


Behind the Magic Mask

by frosted_wisteria



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, I Tried, Mutant Powers, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please read, Supernatural Elements, suga gets kidnapped, the first few chapters introduce the characters and it drags on for a while
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 08:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8154994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frosted_wisteria/pseuds/frosted_wisteria
Summary: Supernatural powers and magical creatures aren’t just lies. They’re real. All around the world, in every country, in every little town. Even in Japan, young boys have different identities and miraculous powers. Even in their volleyball clubs.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (*_*) this is my first fanfic!!!  
> I wrote so much about Sugawara sorry but my fingers wouldn't stop typing about him  
> My writing sucks but please read it ^^
> 
> I'd appreciate it if you could leave a comment!

Supernatural powers and magical creatures aren’t just lies. 

 

They’re real. 

 

All around the world, in every country, in every little town. 

 

Even in Japan, young boys have different identities and miraculous powers. 

 

Even in their volleyball clubs.

 

* * *

 

“Dammit Oikawa, I told you to keep your horns in!” Iwaizumi smacked the back of Oikawa’s head, then hissed in pain as he pricked his hand on one of Oikawa’s protruding little horns. 

 

“Ah! Iwa-chan, are you okay?” Oikawa pulled his horns back in before they could grow any bigger. When they went to their full form, the horns were huge and intimidating, and usually scared everyone, including some of Oikawa’s fangirls, away. But Oikawa couldn’t help it. 

He was a Sin Demon, and Sin Demons liked their horns out fully. It felt nice, especially for Oikawa’s kind.

 

Even for a world full of mystical creatures and unusual superpowers, demons were a rare case. Actually, there seemed to be more people with powers instead of being beasts of some kind. Demons were the most scarce of all.

 

“Nah, I’m fine. It just kinda pinched me. Must be hard, being a demon.”

 

“Isn’t more hard for you, Iwa-chan? There are so many people with abilities, yet you absolutely, totally have none.”

 

“I like being a normal human, so shut up.”

 

Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa’s back.

 

“Ow! That hurt, Iwa-chan!”

 

“Hm. I guess I’ll be hitting your back instead of your head from now on.”

 

Iwaizumi started running towards the gym.

 

“Iwa-chan, wait for me!”

 

* * *

 

 

“I knew flying would be better! Now you’re losing!” Hinata twirled around in the sky, letting his power free. 

 

“Dumbass! We can’t use our powers for training! Come back down!”

 

Kageyama glared at Hinata, and Hinata just jeered back at him. “You just keep running on the earth, Kageyama. Captain’s not watching, so flying for a little bit won’t hurt!”

 

Kageyama deepened his malicious glare.

 

“I said to  **come back down!** **”**

 

“Ugh-!” 

 

Hinata gasped as a slimy feeling slithered around his head - or to be precise, his brain. Then his brown, shining eyes dulled into a light grey before he dropped like a rock from the sky, panicking the black-haired youth on the land.

 

“Dammit, this wasn’t supposed to happen…”

 

Kageyama ran for where Hinata was dropping to. He couldn’t have Hinata dying today. They still had spikes to practice, after all.

 

“Got-cha!” Kageyama managed to catch Hinata. He held the white-eyed boy in his arms, princess style.

 

“You troublesome asshole, you even made me use my power when I wasn’t supposed to.”

 

Kageyama lay Hinata onto the grassy side of the road, then leaned closer to his face to proceed with slapping his face. Multiple times.

 

“…Eh, urgh, ugh, w-wai-t, ack, cut it out!” Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s hands. 

 

“That hurts, you idiot! What are you even doing?” Hinata sat up. His eyes were  back to normal. All sparkly and filled with love and hope and those sort of stuff. 

 

“I accidentally used my power on you.” Kageyama slapped Hinata’s face one more time just to make sure that he was normal.

 

“That hurts, moron. Why did you use your power on me? You know it’s unstable!”

 

“I didn’t mean to use it, you asshole. As you said, it’s unstable. I can’t control in the way I want it to. And also, I had to get you to the ground. What happened wasn’t what I expected, though.”

 

“Dumbass.”

 

The first year duo continued fighting until Sawamura appeared, all sweaty and out of breath.

 

“Hinata! I saw you flying! I told you that powers are forbidden during practice!”

 

Hinata flinched. Kageyama turned his head away to hide his grin.

 

“Flying is great, but not right now. Honestly, I’d love to fly, but you know I can’t.”

 

Hinata and Kageyama lowered their heads at that statement.

 

Daichi Sawamura was a crow tengu, a Japanese beast known for their big black wings and incredible flying techniques. However, Sawamura’s wings were deformed from birth, and on his back were just two feathery black stubs which refused to grow.

 

Sawamura smiled at the sight of the two first years looking down at the grass, still bickering with each other under their breaths. Maybe bringing up his past was a bit too much.

 

“Alright, go and run, you two! I won’t go easy on you if you use your powers again!”

 

“O-ossu!”

* * *

 

 

“You’re finally back, Suga.”

 

“Yeah. That was tiring.”

 

Sugawara entered the gym, panting. 

 

“I’ll never like running. I don’t have enough stamina to do long distances.”

 

“Well, we’re doing it to increase our stamina. You’ll have to get used to it.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The two third years stood on the side of the court, deep in idle chatter.

 

“Watch out!”

 

A volleyball flew towards the pair and hit Sugawara’s shoulder.

 

“Ow!”

 

Sugawara fell to his knees. 

 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to go that way…” Kinoshita ran towards them with an expression of both worry and fear.

 

“It’s okay, I’m fine.” But he didn’t look like it. Sugawara grimaced as he noticed something.

 

His right hand covered his right eye instinctively, and he quickly swept the gym floor with his left. 

 

And then he stood up with something in his hand.

 

“Uh, I’ll just go to the bathroom real quick. I’ll be right back!”

 

He ran off. Sawamura stared at him until he left the gym.

 

“You guys keep practicing. I’ll follow him to make sure that he’s okay.”

 

The captain hurriedly walked in the path that Sugawara took. Kinoshita gazed at him until he disappeared. 

 

“Kinoshita! What’re you doing, come back!”

 

Nishinoya appeared in front of Kinoshita in a split second, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

 

“Where did Daichi-san and Suga-san go?”

 

“Sugawara-san went to the bathroom, and the captain went to check if he’s alright.”

 

“Huh, that so? Anyways, go and practice already. Everyone’s receiving now.”

 

Kinoshita walked while Nishinoya ran lightning fast back to his position in the court.

 

Meanwhile, Sugawara was in the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror with his contact lens on his finger.

 

“You okay?”

 

He gasped, and his hand automatically flew to his right eye.

 

“It’s okay, it’s just me.” 

 

Sugawara sighed in relief as he saw Sawamura emerge from behind the bathroom door.

 

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Is your shoulder alright?”

 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Sugawara smiled. “I’ll go back to practice right away.”

 

Sugawara’s hand fell from his face, revealing his eyes.

 

His left eye was hazel, and his right eye…

 

was red.

 

A bright and beautiful red that darkened in the middle. His pupil was slit, like a cat’s.

 

“You don’t need to hide that you’re a demon, you know. I’m sure they’ll get used to it quickly.”

 

Sugawara nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. But I just want to hide it.”

 

“Can’t you change your eye colour even without contact lenses?”

 

“I can, but…” Sugawara’s right eye switched to a hazel brown, but within seconds, it switched back to red. “I can’t seem to control it well right now. I used to have brown eyes as a child, though. I think I’ll lose more control as I grow up.”

 

“You can control your horns, though?” Sawamura questioned.

 

Two horns popped up from the sides of Sugawara’s silver head. They weren’t exactly big, but they weren’t small either. 

 

“I can control this.” He smiled gently.

 

“Alright…” Daichi started to walk out the door. “I’m going back to practice now. Come back quickly, okay?” He disappeared behind the entrance.

 

Sugawara cleaned his contact lens and put it back in his right eye. His twisted horns sunk back into his head. He looked normal now. Like a human. As he walked out the door, his pale hands reached for the back of his neck…

 

To touch the sharp stone embedded in his skin…

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamaguchi sighs.
> 
> The second years perform a true manly confession.
> 
> Asahi thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it took so long to update, for those who were waiting...  
> Here's chapter 2!

Yamaguchi was a simple teenage boy. He couldn’t handle hard feelings or emotions. But sometimes it didn’t just stop there. He literally couldn’t handle anything. You know, like books and volleyballs. They would just slip through his fingers as if he didn’t exist at all. 

 

“Yamaguchi, I’ve gotten the hang of it! I’m definitely receiving this one!”

 

“I’ll try to make sure you don’t!"

Training as usual. Yamaguchi was practicing his float serves with Nishinoya. Nishinoya had only managed to perfectly receive two out of six, but he was slowly getting used to the tricky tactic. Tsukishima simply watched from a distance while getting ready to leave the gym and get changed. The once bright sky was deepening in darkness.

 

Yamaguchi headed over to the volleyball cart to get another ball. As he tried to take hold of it, his hand swept through the coloured material. 

 

Yamaguchi grimaced.

 

“Nishinoya-san, my phase is here.”

 

Nishinoya frowned. “Is that so? Then I’ll go practice with Asahi-san while you recover!”

 

Yamaguchi nodded, then headed over to Tsukishima to sit next to him.

 

“…You okay?” Tsukishima asked.

 

“Yeah. It’ll be gone after a few minutes.”

 

Yamaguchi made an attempt to grab his water bottle, but failed. He sighed.

 

“Is it just your arms and hands?”

 

“Yeah.” Yamaguchi sighed again, deeper this time. “Luckily.” He added.

 

Yamaguchi had a condition which prevented him from touching anything. Or more specifically, he was ‘untouchable’. He was like a ghost. It didn’t happen so often as a younger child, but as he grew up, his ‘untouchable’ phase appeared more frequently. 

 

“…I think I’ll leave now.” Tsukishima stood up.

 

“Okay. Bye bye, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi smiled warmly as Tsukishima left.

 

“Oi, Tsukishima! Practice receives with me! You can’t be going already!” Hinata bounced over to the disgusted blonde. 

 

“Ew. No. I’m going home now.” Tsukishima ran over to Yamaguchi and sank into his shadow. 

 

“Oi, Tsukishima! No fair!” Hinata ran towards Yamaguchi’s shadow. 

 

“Out!” Hinata shouted into the shade.

 

“You idiot. I’m over here.” Tsukishima smirked from the gym entrance.

 

“Wha - how’d you get there so quick? There aren’t any linked shadows near Yamaguchi…"  


 

“There’s always a lot of shadows that you can’t see. Like between each wooden plank.”

 

Hinata made a face. “Always running away. Yamaguchi, can you practice with me?”

 

Yamaguchi let his hand drop to the gym floor. He could touch it again.

 

“Sure. Not for too long though!” 

 

Hinata cheeped happily.

 

* * *

 

 

“Captain bought meat buns for us!”

 

Tanaka jumped out of Sakanoshita, waving the bun-filled paper bags around. Sawamura and Sugawara came out of the shop, grinning. 

 

“I thought that I might as well treat you guys today. It’s been a while.” 

 

“Captain!!!” Everyone looked at him with admiration. Sawamura sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

 

“Tsukishima! At least Daichi gave you a meat bun, so don’t be angry for dragging you along with us! It’s a nice cozy team time!” Sugawara patted Tsukishima’s back.

 

“… We’re always practicing together, it’s always a ‘team time’…” But despite his words, Tsukishima stayed behind.

 

“It’s so hard to make you stay with us. You can’t just keep on running away from what destiny leads you to!” Nishinoya stood up with a bun in one hand and a popsicle in the other. “That’s not what a real man does.”

 

“Ooh! Great words, Noya-san!” Tanaka laughed and gave him a affectionate slap on the back.

 

“Did you hear about Ishikawa-kun from class 2-1?” Kazuhito suddenly broke the conversation. He was sitting on the concrete with his head down. The aura around him seemed somewhat dark and gloomy.

 

“Oh… yeah, that guy.” Tanaka’s expression turned dark. “That bastard…” 

 

“HOW DARE HE GET A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE US?!” Nishinoya screamed into the air. 

 

“SHUT UP!” Coach Ukai slammed the shop door open and glared at the volleyball club. “Shut up and eat and just go home quickly!” 

 

Everyone went silent. The only sound heard was the shop door banging shut as the coach stormed back in.

 

“…Tch.” Nishinoya glared at the ground. “That traitor… he confessed to one of the pretty girls… Nazuka-chan, right?”

 

“Yeah…” Kazuhito gritted his teeth. “He said that he wouldn’t dare go near her…”

 

“He secretly called her out to the back of the school with a letter! That’s not right! You have to confess to her wherever and whenever you can! And then he treated her to sandwiches! _Sandwiches_! You don’t treat a girl to _sandwiches_!” Tanaka roared. “Ennoshita!”

 

Ennoshita jumped from his sudden call. “H-huh? What?” 

 

“Become a girl for me!” 

 

Ennoshita frowned. “What? Why?”

 

“I need to represent how a real man confesses! Transform into a pretty girl for me!”

 

Ennoshita sighed. “Fine, just this once.”

 

The air around him shivered, and suddenly, a blonde haired young girl was standing where he once was. Her eyes were emerald and there were freckles scattered on her face. Not a Japanese girl. A complete foreigner.

 

Tanaka’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “That’s cheating! Foreigner girls aren’t allowed!”

 

“You asked for one. I gave you one.” The green-eyed girl, Ennoshita with an illusion, tossed her(?) hair back. “Go on, do what you were going to do.”

 

“Go on, bro!” Nishinoya hooted from behind.

 

The third and first years turned from their conversations to stare at the oddly loud group.

 

“That’s Ennoshita-san, right?” Yamaguchi whispered to Hinata.

 

“Yeah. His illusion is so pretty.” Hinata couldn’t help staring at her(?).

 

“Action!” Kinoshita shouted.

 

“Hmph! Why did you call me, the great…” Illusion Ennoshita paused for a while. “Why did you call me, the great Sumire-chan over here?” She(?) pouted at Tanaka, who couldn’t help but blush at her(?) focused gaze.

 

_“She has a Japanese name? I thought she was a foreigner?”_ Kageyama looked puzzled.

 

“Woo, you have the princess route, Tanaka!” Nishinoya laughed. 

 

“S-Sumire-san!” I think that you’re absolutely perfect in every way! And I think that you’re perfect for me! Be my girlfriend!” Tanaka boomed, his voice echoing into the distance. His posture and gestures were all so twitchy and on edge that even just watching him made the others nervous.

 

“W-well…” Sumire stuttered. She(?) awkwardly twisted a strand of hair with a slender finger. “I guess I can have you be my personal bodyguard. But…” Sumire glanced at Tanaka’s red face with her huge eyes. “Y-you can be my bodyguard, but don’t shun the love between us, okay?”

 

Nishinoya managed to dash out in time with his lightning speed(literally) to receive Tanaka’s falling body. 

 

“Damn… he’s out.” Nishinoya looked up at Sumire/Ennoshita. “That’s some great acting, Sumi - I mean, Ennoshita.”

 

“Yeah, you could become an actress - I mean actor, Sumi - I mean, Ennoshita.” Kinoshita said.

 

The air around Sumire shivered, and Ennoshita was back. “I just copied some lines from a drama I watched a few days ago. Didn’t know it would be so effective on Tanaka.”

 

“It was actually pretty effective for everyone here, really…” Sawamura whispered. Sugawara laughed.

 

“You got me Ennoshita…” Tanaka groaned and sat up. “A beautiful foreigner girl wasn’t something I expected.”

 

“That was a really amazing performance, Ennoshita! You really have some skills in acting!” Asahi woke up from his daze after watching Ennoshita’s stunning piece. He was in awe. 

 

“Oh! Thank you, Asahi-san.” 

 

Ennoshita blushed softly from the compliments. 

 

* * *

 

 

Asahi was still smiling by the time he got home. Being surrounded by his teammates, laughing and sharing funny stories… something that he would’ve never imagined would happen when he was younger.

 

He made sure to enter the house as quietly as possible. The lights were turned off, so he guessed that his family was fast asleep. He yelped when the floorboards creaked under his weight. 

 

He managed to finally get into his room. The room was dimly lit by the moon, showing the interior of Asahi’s own small space. He slowly lay down on his bed, and looked up at the ceiling. 

 

His life had advanced so far.

 

Never would’ve he thought that he would actually be part of the team, not to mention being the ace! He actually fitted in!

 

Okay, maybe he didn’t exactly ‘fit’ in _perfectly_. While the other members actually _looked_ like decent high schoolers, he had those rumours about him staying in school for five years, or being a filthy delinquent… and he was talked about behind his back, all the girls were scared of him, he liked his cool hairstyle but no one else did… there was the cat who ran away from him a few days ago… when he approached a lost crying kid, she cried even harder and he was marked as a pervert… 

 

Before Asahi knew it, he was enclosed in a thick circle of fog. 

 

“Ah, dammit!” Asahi flapped his arms around to try and get rid of the mist. 

 

_‘Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts!”_ Asahi breathed in and out. Happy thoughts!

 

He was the well-respected (or so he was told) ace of the volleyball club! He had lots of friends. He was once told that his personality was nice! The meat bun from before was really tasty! Ennoshita’s acting was amazing! 

 

The fog was slowly dissolving. 

 

_‘Think more of… cute things! Think of cute things!’_

 

Cats! Dogs! Rabbits! Nishinoya! Birds! Turtles! Hamsters!

 

When Asahi looked up again, the fog had disappeared. Completely gone.

 

He sighed. He knew that he had troubles with unhappy thoughts, but sometimes it got out of hand. He couldn’t remember how many times people complained about his fog. But he couldn’t really help it, you know! It was just part of him, and no matter how much he wished for it to vanish, it wouldn’t. How could people call something as useless as this an ability? 

 

Asahi panicked again when he saw the fog reappearing. 

 

_‘Cats! Dogs! Hamsters! Nishinoya! Cute cute cute cute…’_

 

It disappeared again. Asahi exhaled in relief.

 

Maybe he should go to sleep…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll try to update quicker!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanaka sees red.
> 
> Shimizu asks for directions.
> 
> Yachi screams internally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, for everyone who was waiting!

Tanaka was like a dominant volcano. You never know when he’s going to explode. His temper and troublesome behaviour was just barely controlled by the people around him. 

 

It was the second day of the training camp for Nekoma and Karasuno. It had been a while since they had met up, so everyone was slightly cautious of each other. Had they improved within time they hadn't met? Would they be harder to play against? But no matter how much both teams had reformed, they all knew that the opposing team was worthy to compete with.

 

“Don’t mind, Tanaka! You can do it next time!” Sawamura shouted to Tanaka, who was slapping his cheeks after he missed a serve. 

 

“Yes, I can! Sorry!” Tanaka breathed in and out a few times in an attempt to relax himself. Probably didn’t work so well, since he was fuming by the time Nekoma had won two more points.

 

“Why? My body isn’t working the way I want it to…” 

 

“Tanaka-san, calm down! We all have those days where nothing goes the way we want.” Yamaguchi said. But he knew deep down that Tanaka wouldn’t even try to collect himself by now. His fuse was finally lit, after a long time of peace.

 

“Dammit! Okay, I’m getting this one!” Tanaka watched the serving player on the opposite team like a hawk. No way would he miss this one.

 

The ball shot towards Sawamura. “I’ve got this!” Sawamura yelled. 

 

But Tanaka dived in front of Sawamura to receive the ball. 

 

“H-huh?” Sawamura’s eyes widened in surprise before Tanaka fell on top of him. The ball swung sharply to the side of the court, and rolled out. 

 

“Captain! Tanaka-senpai! Are you alright?” Hinata hovered over the two boys with a worried look on his face.

 

“Gah! I! AM! FINE!” 

 

Hinata winced at Tanaka’s loud voice. Unlike his usually cheeky tone, this was angry. It was all red. Tanaka was absolutely furious.

 

With himself.

 

“Ugh! Dammit! I’m not getting anything today!” 

 

“Tanaka, calm down…” 

 

Asahi instinctively avoided Tanaka’s deathly glare, even though he was just trying to brighten him up.

 

Nekoma served again, and this time, oh boy, Tanaka was not letting this one free.

 

Kageyama set the ball up. Just the way Tanaka-san liked it.

 

Tanaka jumped for the ball. He was seeing red all over. Normally he’d try to calm himself down, but all the unnoticed stress and emotions had reached the limit, and today would be the day that he blew up.

 

“ARGHH!” Tanaka hit the ball with such force that it hurtled through the air with lightning speed and left a dent on the gym floor.

 

“That’s horrifying… wait, what?” Kenma inspected the ball closely. It was… ripped? 

 

The ball was quite thoroughly shredded to pieces. 

 

Kuroo noticed the commotion in the other team. “What’s up with them?” 

 

“Tanaka! Tanaka, listen to me! You can’t do this here right now!” Kinoshita grabbed hold of Tanaka from the back. 

 

Tanaka was now a beast. With his thrashing long claws and drooling mouth, no bit of sanity was left to be found in him. His eyes were bright yellow.

 

“Oh dear… looks like their second-year has quite an exasperating ‘ability’.” Yaku continued to watch the uproar on the other side of the court.

 

Coach Ukai held Tanaka back by the arms, while Nishinoya took hold of his legs.

 

“Ennoshita, if you could do us a favour!”

 

Ennoshita nodded, and walked up to face Tanaka. Tanaka growled and tried to bite him.

 

“Tanaka!” Ennoshita held Tanaka’s face in both hands, and squeezed his cheeks. Tanaka continued to snarl viciously. 

 

“You. Are. Going. To. Be. All. Right!” Ennoshita shouted into the beast’s face. “We. Will. Wait. Until. You. Have. Calmed. Down! But. It. Would. Be. Nice. If. You. Didn’t. Take. So. Long!”

 

Ennoshita squeezed Tanaka’s cheeks again, leaving a red mark on his face. Tanaka growled again, but it was softer. Before, he was like a wild gorilla, but now he was at the stage of an untamed dog.

 

Only a few minutes passed until Tanaka seemed to calm down. His face was red, because Ennoshita squeezed it, but also because of embarrassment. His claws and sharp canines hadn’t disappeared yet. His yellow eyes were glued to the floor.

 

Coach Ukai sighed. “It’s been a while since this happened at school, right?” 

 

“Um, yes. The last two happened at home.” Tanaka replied, his face still lowered in shame.

 

Ennoshita crouched down in front of Tanaka. “Look at me in the eye, Tanaka.”

 

Tanaka meekly lifted his head and looked at Ennoshita.

 

“Tanaka, we all have days when we blow up. We all have bad days. It’s just that you have a more… unique way of expressing your emotions. And it’s not your fault at all! It’s just that we all have different ‘abilities’ that will put us apart from other people. But there’s no ‘normal’ way for people to express themselves. We’re all different. So when you get to the time where you show your feelings, don’t worry, since we won’t judge you.” Ennoshita took hold of Tanaka’s face and slapped his cheeks lightly. “So don’t get all depressed now!”

 

Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei nodded. The rest of the team smiled at Tanaka.

 

For a moment, Ennoshita thought that his little speech didn’t work, when Tanaka suddenly stood up.

 

“I’m sorry for the disturbance. I’m completely fine now! Please let us continue the match!”

 

Everyone sighed in relief. That was the Tanaka that everyone knew. 

 

“Alright - let’s continue!”

 

“But maybe after Tanaka’s ‘beast mode’ disappears… since we don’t want any more ripped volleyballs…”

 

* * *

 

 

“Shimizu-senpai! Should I put the volleyball cart over here?” Yachi questioned.

 

“Oh! If you could just roll it into the sport shed - it’s over there - that’d be nice.” Shimizu smiled at the scene of Yachi trying to take the cart into the shed while avoiding the big players scattered around her.

 

“Shi-Shimizu-san!”

 

Shimizu turned around to see one of the Nekoma players. 

 

“If I’m correct… you’re Yamamoto-san, right?”

 

**“Y-Yes!”** Yamamoto fidgeted with his fingers. “Um, I was just wondering if you saw Kenma anywhere. He’s the guy with the pudding head!” 

 

“Oh, that boy.” Shimizu fell silent for a moment. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ve seen him anywhere.”

 

“O-oh! Is that so! Thank you for your help!” Yamamoto bowed sharply and ran off.

 

“Tanaka! I spoke to her!” Yamamoto ran into the dining hall. He grasped the hand of his great master, Tanaka. Tanaka shook his hand with a proud smile on his face. 

 

“You’ve advanced a step further. You’re doing a great job!”

 

Yamamoto brushed away a tear.

 

“By the way… is that Kenma guy really missing?”

 

“Oh, Kenma? Kuroo-san asked me to find him, but he’s probably playing games in some random corner.”

 

While the two love-struck teens giggled in the kitchen, Shimizu was deeply concerned about the missing boy.

 

_‘I feel like I should find him.’_ Shimizu headed over to the gym door.

 

“ _Door-san, have you seen a pudding-haired boy anywhere?”_

 

The door didn't make a sound nor move, but Shimizu could clearly hear the door’s voice in her head.

 

_“Darling, you have quite a unique ability, to be able to talk to me. I have seen a boy with pudding hair go outside, if that helps.”_

 

_“Thank you, Door-san.”_ Shimizu bowed graciously to the door, and ran outside. The boys who were watching her were very confused.

 

Shimizu searched around the camp site for the pudding head. The sky was a deep orange. It reminded her of Hinata’s hair.

 

_“Excuse me, Crow-san. Have you seen a boy with pudding hair anywhere?”_

 

_“I saw him go behind that wall.”_

 

_“Thank you.”_

 

Shimizu bowed again, and walked to the wall. She took a look behind it, and there was no boy, but a cat lying down on the ground.

 

_“Cat-san, have you seen a pudding haired boy anywhere?”_

 

The cat turned his head briskly and saw Shimizu standing above him. Shimizu was really trying hard to not pet him. He looked so cute and soft, after all.

 

_“…Ah.”_

 

Shimizu heard the cat speak into her head. What? Had the cat not heard her question clearly? Shimizu was about to repeat the question when the cat stood up. On his hind legs.

 

“Wha-?” Shimizu was absolutely perplexed. What was with this cat?

 

The cat grew taller and thicker, and before Shimizu knew it, the cat had morphed into a human. And he was the human that Shimizu was looking for. 

 

Kenma.

 

“I’m sorry. I went out to sleep. You were looking for me, right?”

 

Shimizu seemed shocked for a moment, but then regained her composure. 

 

“Yes. Your teammates were looking for you…”

 

While the two were talking behind the building, Yachi was inside the gym, bewildered. Where was Shimizu-senpai? She was right behind her, but when Yachi turned around after putting the volleyball cart away, she was gone! She had heard her speaking to someone, but thought that it was just one of the coaches or something. And now she was gone!

 

Was she… kidnapped?

 

The thought terrified her. Was she really? Who was it that she was talking to? Who? Was it the kidnapper? Was it one of Shimizu-senpai’s malicious fans? Maybe that was it! She was taken away by an evil fan!

 

Yachi screamed internally. What was she going to do?

 

**BOOM.**

 

Everyone in the gym turned their heads at the sudden sound. It wasn’t too loud, but loud enough to catch everyone’s attention.

 

**BOOM.**

 

**POP.**

 

**BOOM.**

 

There were little bright explosions bursting around the small girl. They weren’t huge explosions, just really small and bright ones.

 

“Is she okay? Is that her ability?” The Nekoma and Karasuno players who were cleaning up murmured to each other.

 

Yachi Hitoka. A first-year high schooler who was always nervous. Always thinking up of the most dangerous and worrisome situations. Whenever she was nervous **to the extreme** , little explosions would go off around her. They weren’t quite threatening, but the worst case was when Yachi’s curtain had caught on fire while she was thinking about her possibly getting stabbed on the street. 

 

“Hitoka-chan! Thanks for waiting, let’s go to the dining hall!” Shimizu reappeared from the gym entrance with Kenma in tow. 

 

“Shimizu-senpai, you’re alive!” Yachi ran over and hugged Shimizu. 

 

“Uh, yeah. Sorry for leaving you behind. I was trying to find Kozume-san.”

 

Kenma nodded to Yachi, who awkwardly nodded back.

 

“I’m so glad you’re alive… I thought that you were kidnapped…” Yachi sobbed.

 

_‘What a creative imagination…’_ Shimizu thought. “Come on, let’s go and eat dinner.”

 

“Yes!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ability examinations.
> 
> Doctor.
> 
> Blushing Hinata.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the kagehina sprouts!!! o(^∀^*)o

When Hinata was a small child, he honestly thought that he was part bird. At that time, his skills were just beginning to grow. He could barely float, let alone fly. His face had crumpled like crinkled paper when his mother sat down next to him and told him that he wasn’t, in fact, part bird. 

 

His skills had considerably improved since then, but his talent was risky. He was somewhat like a kite. He could fly at ease when someone he truly trusted was close to him, but if that person let go, he would dangerously swoop down or float away. He’s tried to develop his skills, of course. The last attempt was at school a few weeks ago, when he jumped out the window from the second floor. It had ended up with some bruises and a huge scolding from the vice-principal.

 

“Hinata-kun!”

 

The class president hovered over Hinata’s orange head.

 

“Uh- yes! What is it, class president?”

 

“Here!” The class president handed a sheet of paper to him. “It’s for the examination today.”

 

Hinata jumped up.

 

“We have an exam today?”

 

The class president laughed. “Not ‘we’, it’s just you and a few others. Remember when the teacher told you that the ability specialist doctors would check up on us some time these days? They only take a few students from each year group a day, since it’ll take a long time to take care of every student all at once. You were sleeping when the teacher explained this, right?”

 

Hinata blushed bright red.

 

“A-anyways, what’s this sheet about?”

 

“Oh, you just need to write some basic information about yourself so that the doctors can examine your ability properly. You know, like your birthday and what ability you have, blah blah blah. Fill it in as detailed as possible. You’re going to have your exam at 1:00pm.”

 

“Oh! Okay then! Thanks!” Hinata beamed at the class president, who smiled and nodded, then walked off.

 

Hinata pulled out a pencil. 

 

“Alrighty then…”

 

* * *

 

And before he knew it, it was his turn.

 

A man in a white lab coat scribbled down some quick notes for the last student. He took a swift glance at Hinata, looked down and briskly fixed his glasses, then looked up at Hinata again.

 

“Hinata Shouyou-kun, I presume?”

 

Hinata nodded.

 

“Alright. Please sit on the chair.” The doctor gestured to the black stool in front of him. He adjusted his glasses again, and jotted down some more notes.

 

“Hinata Shouyou-kun. From what you’ve written down here, you have the ability to fly, yes?”

 

“It’s levitation.” Hinata corrected him.

 

“Yes, levitation. So… you’re not quite skilled at it?” The doctor focused his gaze on the twitchy young boy. He certainly looked like the type to be able to fly. The people he had encountered with the power of levitation were all mostly slender and lean. Hinata fitted that description of the typical levitation user perfectly.

 

“Well, I’ll have to get you to demonstrate you ability. Let’s go outside. Don’t worry about falling or flying away. We have all the right gear to keep you safe from any danger. Now, now.”

 

The doctor gently pushed Hinata out the gym doors, picking up some strange equipment on the way. There was a huge black belt and a tough-looking rope. They were both attached to each other, and judging by the way the doctor grimaced when he picked it up, it was quite heavy.

 

“We’re yet to discover a kind of material that won’t let go of strong levitation users, while being light and comfortable to use at the same time… sorry, this might be a big heavy. You’ll only be demonstrating your power for a little while, so try to bear with it.” 

 

Some other people, presumably the assistants, helped Hinata buckle the belt around his waist and bind the elastic sleeves onto his shoulders. They were quite heavy, but not as heavy as Hinata expected it to be. Maybe the doctor was just weak.

 

The doctor and his assistants finished tying the rope to the special rock-pole thing (designed so that it would stick on the spot and won’t let the users fly away). 

 

“Alright, Hinata-kun. You can try flying now. Don’t worry about dropping, we have nets down here!”

 

Hinata stretched, so that he wouldn’t have a sudden cramp while flying (like that last time when he was shooting up and down real quick to see if he had the properties of a rubber ball… you know what this isn’t the time).

 

“Uh, so do I just fly…?” 

 

“Yes. Go ahead!” 

 

Hinata breathed in, breathed out, and then jumped. He poured in his vitality into this spring, making him fly higher into the sky. The rope began to unfurl itself quickly. 

 

“Hm, okay…” The doctor touched his glasses and scrawled down some notes. 

 

The young boy was quite high up in the air when he started to somersault. It somehow seemed so graceful and mesmerising to watch. Even the doctor stopped writing notes to watch his performance.

 

_‘I hope this looks good… I want to leave a good reputation.’_ Hinata thought.

 

He continued with his fantastic flips and turns, when the doctor started shouting from below.

 

“Hinata-kun! I think you can stop now! You need to come back down!” 

 

The assistants started pulling on the ropes, dragging Hinata down from the sky. 

 

“Ugh, he keeps on floating up.” One of the assistants whispered to the other.

 

Hinata noticed the annoyed expression on their faces. But he couldn’t help it! He didn’t want to keep on flying forever as well (and if let go of his power he would drop to the net and that would be kinda scary).

 

Once Hinata had taken off all the heavy gear and gadgets, he sat back down on that black stool, facing the doctor. The doctor cleared his throat, and proceeded to talk. 

 

“So, Hinata-kun. According to your performance today and your physical examination from a few weeks ago, you’re perfectly fine!”

 

“Hm?” Hinata cocked his head. “Although this session went well, I feel like there’s more to why I can’t fly properly at other times. It’s worrying me.”

 

The doctor laughed. “Don’t worry. This is something that happens to everyone at that stage. When you’re going to puberty, that is. Abilities tend to change and behave unusually at that major point of growth in life. It’s nothing to worry about. Although it will never stop evolving, it’ll reach a point when your ability becomes clear and it will stabilise.”

 

“Oh. Okay.”

 

“Well then.” The doctor clasped his hands together. “Now, you can go back to your current class if you want, or you can go home, since the staff have been notified about your exam. The examination time for each student varies, so usually they’re allowed to go home when they finish.”

 

Hinata pondered. It would be a waste of time to go home and come back for club activities, because he would only be at home for a few minutes before having to go back to school. He certainly didn’t want to go back to class either. No way.

 

“You can stay and watch the examinations if you want.” The doctor suggested.

 

“Huh? Aren’t these supposed to be private?”

 

“Well, they’re like physical exams. You have your friends watching you from the line most the time, right? Although you probably need the student’s permission for this examination. Let’s see who’s next…” The doctor picked up the pile of papers from his small desk. Some sheets were empty, and some were filled with black ink from top to bottom. All of them had photos of a different student.

 

“Ah! Here we go. Kageyama Tobio. Do you know him? Do you think he’d mind you watching him?”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

Hinata gasped when the deep voice emerged from behind him. It was Kageyama.

 

“I see, you two must be friends! Then Hinata-kun, you can just sit on one of those plastic chairs. You can just watch from there for now.”

 

“…Right.” Hinata eyed Kageyama as he passed him. Kageyama caught his gaze and his eyes narrowed. His expression clearly said, **_‘what are you looking at, dumbass.’_**

 

Hinata gulped and sat on the seat. Even though he said that he was allowed to watch him…

 

Kageyama sat down on the black stool as the doctor began to talk, just like Hinata did before.

 

Hinata watched Kageyama talk. He sat on his plastic white chair, staring intently at the way his lips moved. They looked so sweet and soft. A light tint of peach-pink. His mouth, opening and closing. His teeth were really white. And perfectly straight. That was unfair. Hinata’s teeth were slightly crooked, and he’d always hated that. 

 

Kageyama must’ve noticed Hinata’s somewhat fierce gaze. He turned his head around to look at him. Hinata reddened, and quickly turned his head away. 

 

‘ _Wait_ ,’ Hinata thought.

 

Why did he turn away? He could’ve just stared back. 

 

Hinata glanced at Kageyama. He wasn’t looking anymore. He was nodding along to what the doctor was saying.

 

Kageyama’s lips…

 

Hinata’s face burned up. Why? Just why, why why why why why were those lips so… tempting? Was that even the right word to describe that? What was that? Why? 

 

Kageyama was continuously nodding along with the doctor’s words when suddenly, something the man said made him flinch. He panicked and hurriedly flung the top of his uniform off. This made Hinata shriek and fall off the chair. He was not expecting that. **He was not expecting that.**

 

He heard the doctor calm Kageyama down. “Don’t worry, I was just setting an example! You don’t have a life-threatening disease!”

 

Kageyama sighed. Then he looked down at Hinata, who was rolling around on the floor, clutching his scarlet face. Was it just him, or did it look like there was steam coming out from his ears…?

 

“Oi idiot, what sort of weird act are you doing? You look stupid.” Kageyama commented.

 

Hinata jumped up onto his feet. “Wha-what, you stupid blueberry volcano! None of your business!” 

 

Kageyama scowled. “I’m gonna make you practice receives 100 times later. Be glad I’m doing the examination right now.”

 

Hinata felt the hair on his skin rise. He was definitely creepy. Creepy. Totally not cool at all. Not cool. His face is totally not good-looking. He’s an absolutely creepy guy.

 

**NOT COOL AT ALL**

 

Hinata turned away from Kageyama and the doctor. He walked out the gymnasium doors, biting his bottom lip. Little beads of blood formed and slowly dripped down his chin.

 

**NOT. NOT NOT NOT COOL AT ALL**

 

“Hm?” 

 

The doctor raised his head from the sheet. “Where did Hinata-kun go?”

 

Kageyama shrugged. “He probably got bored.”

 

Then he lowered his head. 

 

“Good. I was having a hard time controlling myself…”

 

“What did you say?” The doctor asked. “I couldn’t hear you.”

 

“No, it’s nothing.” 

 

Kageyama put his head in his hands.

 

 

 

“It’s nothing…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsukki likes to observe.
> 
> Oikawa is concerned.
> 
> The villains are revealed.

 “Yamaguchi!”

 

Yamaguchi jumped up. “Yes?”

 

The teacher tapped the thick history textbook in her hand. “Answer the question. What was the reason for the Sin Demons being hated and shunned in the past?”

 

“Because the Sin Demons used their exceptionally powerful abilities to take control of humans and use them as slaves or as food.” 

 

The teacher nodded. “Correct. Another question. What are the seven types of Sin Demons?”

 

“Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride.”

 

“Yes, all correct.” The teacher turned around and listed them on the chalkboard. “These are the very basics. If you can’t remember this, then you’ll get lower grades on your tests. You must remember them.”

 

“Yesss.” The whole class answered in unison. Yamaguchi sat back down onto his seat. 

 

“Sin Demons were despised for the cunning use of their abilities as natural-borns to take full control of any living thing around them. Although they have made themselves scarce since the mid 1980s, they are still some sightings of these demons controlling people. Sin Demons are the rarest of their kind, and nobody knows how many are left to this day.”

 

The teacher stopped talking and cleared her throat. 

 

“Once again, you must know this for good grades. Memorise!” 

 

The bell rang, and the students stood up.

 

“Thank you!”

 

“Yeah, be careful on your way home, kids!”

 

The horde of students poured out the doors, most of them going for their club activities, some of them going straight home. Yamaguchi ran up to Tsukishima. They headed for the volleyball club room.

 

“Tsukki, have you had your ability exam?”

 

“Yeah. What about you?”

 

“Uh huh! They said that I’m fine.”

 

“Cool. Me too.” Tsukishima adjusted the bag strap on his shoulder.”

 

A moment of silent passed through them, before Tsukishima spoke up.

 

“…Say, do you know what Sugawara-san’s ability is?”

 

“Suga-san?” Yamguchi cocked his head. “No, I’ve never heard him talk about it before. Maybe he doesn’t have any purpose to use his ability, or he could be something like a ghost or a lesser demon, something that can’t really be told apart with humans. Why?”

 

“No, it’s just that I know what everyone else of the volleyball team can do except Sugawara-san.”

 

Yamaguchi gasped. “How did you find out all of them?”

 

“I just kinda observed them until I found out.”

 

“Hey.” Yamaguchi clutched the edge of Tsukishima’s uniform. “I want to know. Tell me.”

 

Tsukishima’s face reddened slightly. He turned his face towards the sky. “Uh, Sawamura-san is a tengu, Asahi-san can create fog, Nishinoya-san has super speed, Tanaka-san can turn into beasts, Ennoshita-san can create illusions, Kinoshita-san is part fox, Narita-san has no ability, Kageyama can control minds, Hinata can fly, Yachi-san can create explosions and Shimizu-san can speak to all objects and animals.” He paused, then added, “You can make your body freely move through objects, and I can blend in with shadows. That’s everyone in the club except for Sugawara-san.”

 

“What about Ukai-san and Takeda-sensei?”

 

“Ukai-san can change his eye colour and Takeda sensei has no ability.”

 

Yamaguchi laughed. “The ability to change your eye colour? That’s one of the most silliest abilities I’ve heard of!”

 

Tsukishima nodded. His face was no longer red. “Yeah.”

 

“Oi, hurry up you two! We’re gonna start practice now!” It was Tanaka, shouting at them while descending down the stairs from the clubroom.

 

“Yes!” Yamaguchi started jogging towards the room while Tsukishima continued to walk slowly behind, stifling a quiet ‘tch’.

 

* * *

 

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa hugged Iwaizumi from behind.

 

“Wha- get off, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa’s hands, leaving a whimpering volleyball captain. 

 

“Iwa-chan, ruuuuude!” Oikawa stuck his tongue out, and was greeted by a light punch in his side. 

 

“Ow…” Oikawa pouted. Iwaizumi sighed. “I can’t believe you’re actually the captain of a team with that weird personality of yours.”

 

“I’m a little demon that will annoy you forever by your side~!”

 

Again, he was punched.

 

The two third years walked towards the clubroom, when Iwaizumi sighed again, deeper this time.

 

“Iwa-chan? Is something bothering you?”

 

“It’s just that I have no idea what to do for the homework tonight… the one where you have to write a full essay on Sin Demons.”

 

Oikawa flinched. “O-oh, you’re concerned over that?”

 

“Do you know anything extra about Sin Demons? I mean, you’re a demon and all, so maybe you’re related to one of them?”

 

Oikawa shook his head. “No different kinds of demons are supposed to be produced in a Sin Demon’s family, remember? It’s either a human with a similar ability or a pure Sin Demon. You should’ve learned this in class!”

 

Iwaizumi groaned. “I can’t contain all this information in my head!”

 

The duo entered the clubroom and noticed Matsukawa and Hanamaki sniggering over a magazine filled with busty women.

 

“You two, practice is gone start soon.”

 

“Ay.”

 

Oikawa pulled off the top of his school uniform. “Iwa-chan, do you remember Refreshing-kun?”

 

“That third year from Karasuno? Yeah, I remember him.”

 

The two quickly resumed to changing. They stuffed their clothing into the lockers and banged them shut.

 

“What about him?” Iwaizumi asked as they both walked out the door, with Matsukawa and Hanamaki trailing behind them.

 

“Did you notice anything behind his neck?”

 

“His neck? I never really focused on how he looked during matches together, so I don’t really remember whether there was something on his neck.”

 

“Huh. Okay.”

 

Iwaizumi glanced at Oikawa.

 

“Do you have a neck fetish or something?”

 

“Huh?” Oikawa made a face. “There were so many other questions you could’ve asked, and the one you chose was if I had a neck fetish? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t.”

 

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be so surprised if you did have a neck fetish…”

 

“Iwa-chan!”

 

Iwaizumi started running to the gym. Matsukawa and Hanamaki snickered from behind and gave Oikawa a thump on the back before starting to jog after Iwaizumi. 

 

“Sheesh, Iwa-chan…” 

 

Oikawa stopped walking. His hands reached for his outer right thigh, pushing his pants up a bit. 

 

A shining stone was implanted on his thigh. Although it appeared to be black from far away, if it was looked at close enough, people would be able to see the beautiful deep colour or violet weaving itself in the depths of the gem.

 

“I’m sure I saw Refreshing-kun with of of these. I’m 99 percent sure. Could be possibly be like me? But there’s still that 1 percent left. I don’t know…”

 

“Hurry the hell up, Oikawa!”

 

“Yeah! Sorry!” Oikawa yelled. He pushed those complicated thoughts to the back of his mind. He shouldn’t worry about that right now. Practice comes first.

 

* * *

 

_“Have you gotten the necessary information?” The woman, clothed in jet-black from head to toe gestured towards the files on the table in front of her._

 

_“Yes, of course, Ma’am, I have all the information for you here. I have done the best I can just for you.” A short fat man took out his handkerchief for the 17th time and wiped the sweat off his brow._

 

_The woman picked up the biggest file and looked through the papers inside._

 

_“Hm, Sugawara Koushi-chan. He’s adorable. I love him already.” She stared at all the photos of the boy with eyes filled with deep affection._

 

_She slipped the papers back in and slapped the file back down on the table._

 

_“Good job, Takahashi-san. I’m very pleased with your contribution for my plan.”_

 

_“That’s great! That’s good!” Takahashi smiled, his nose crinkling and his mouth parting to show his fleshy pink gums and his yellow teeth. “Now, if you’re so pleased with my work, maybe you could pay me some extra money? You know, I may have exceeded your expectations. This job took me a lot of time and skill, you know. So maybe some additional payments…?”_

 

_The woman stroked her chin. “Come closer Takahashi-san. I’ll tell you what I could offer you as extra payment.”_

 

_Takahashi smiled brightly. The brighter the smile was, the uglier the man got._

 

_“Yes yes, of course ma’am. If I could just scoot over here.”_

 

_He pushed himself through the armchairs and the table, and crouched down next to the woman so that she could whisper into his ear._

 

_“I could offer you a special payment for your exceptional work, you sure you want to hear it?”_

 

_Takahashi greedily nodded._

 

_“I could offer you…”_

 

_He gulped._

 

_“A quick and peaceful death.”_

 

_Takahashi gasped and fell back onto the armchair behind him._

 

_“A-kun, kill him quickly. Clean up everything afterwards.” The woman stood up and walked away for the red door, her black heeled boots clicking with every step._

 

_“W-wait! This isn’t what you promised-ugh!”_

 

_Before Takahashi could grab the woman’s black dress, an enormous man, A-kun, struck his hand, making Takahashi hiss in pain._

 

_“What’s with you? You’re insane! This isn’t what I was told I’d get!”_

 

_The red door shut, and it was just A-kun and Takahashi in the black room._

 

_“The master has ordered for me to kill you quickly, but she’s not here right now. Surely she won’t notice that I’ve had some fun of my own…”_

 

_“What the fuck are you mumbling on about? Let me-”_

 

_Before Takahashi could utter another word, a huge fist plummeted into his flabby face. He was thrown across the room. A-kun chuckled._

 

_“I haven’t had the chance to play in a while.”_

 

_Takahashi groaned. His face was a mess. Blood dripped from his nose and his split lip._

 

_“P-please, have mercy, I won't ask for money, please just let me go!”_

 

_Takahashi begged to the giant figure looming over him._

 

_“The chances you were given, you wasted. Too bad.”_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_And the screaming began._

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara takes photos.
> 
> Kuroo has a dream.
> 
> Sawamura confirms the truth.

Sugawara stood in front of the mirror in the school bathroom. He wanted to see the back of his neck, but no matter how much he twisted around and took a photo of the mirror, it would appear all blurry because it lost focus every time.

 

“Suga! The bell’s gonna ring soon.” Sawamura walked in while Sugawara was striking an unusual pose in front of the mirror.

 

“Uh, Suga…?”

 

“Daichi! Could you take a photo of the back of my neck please?”

 

Sawamura nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

 

Sugawara smiled, and turned his back to Sawamura so that he could take a photo. Sawamura took Sugawara’s phone and aimed it at his neck. 

 

_‘His neck is so long. And thin.’_ Sawamura thought.

 

‘CLICK’

 

“Here.” Sugawara graciously took the phone that Sawamura handed back. 

 

“Why did you need to look at your neck?”

 

“Oh, it felt like there was something there. I wanted to check.”

 

“Looks like there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing’s on your neck.”

 

“Yeah.” Sugawara stared into the photo. “Seems like it.”

 

He stared into the photo for a while before he suddenly woke up from his daze.

 

“Sorry! I’ll make sure not to be late, so you can go ahead. Thanks for reminding me.”

 

“Okay then.” Sawamura walked out the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him. Sugawara looked vacantly at the door before turning his gaze back to his phone. 

 

Sawamura had very clearly said that he couldn’t see anything on his neck.

 

But there was definitely something there. Something that only he could see. A distinct stone, a gem with a rich, dark blue blending in with black. His immediate family couldn’t see it. His friends couldn’t see it. As far as he could remember, the only person who could actually see the stone was the person who attached it to his neck - his great great grandfather, who had passed away a few years ago. Although the memory of his appearance was hazy, he could recall the time when he first met him - the first and last time. 

 

Sugawara touched the gem.

 

He could remember the scene of the old man sticking the burning stone into his skin. He remembered that it hurt. A lot. His parents couldn’t see what was so painful that it made Sugawara scream and cry. 

 

“This will help you live through this game of life. It shows that you are one of us.”

 

…Something like that. 

 

Sugawara deleted the photo, and walked to class.

 

* * *

 

_“I want it. Give it to me.”_

 

_The dark shadow reached out, hand slowly circling around the boy’s wrist._

 

_The boy didn’t have a face. He didn’t have anything on him. He looked just like the shadow, a bit smaller in size._

 

_“Let go.”_

 

_The shadow smiled. How was he smiling? He had no mouth to smile with._

 

_“Let go.” The boy tried to pry the shadow off him. It was no use._

 

_The shadow’s free hand reached for the boy’s neck._

 

_“Not you. That.”_

 

_Both hands reached for his neck. He was strangling him._

 

_“Your life, please.”_

 

_…_

 

Kuroo opened his eyes. His body was slick with sweat. He turned to look at the clock, which read 3:00AM.

 

_‘Another one of those dreams…’_

 

He grunted, and sat up in his bed. It had been a while since he had a nightmare. Or as the doctor from a few days ago called it, a precognitive dream. A dream that could predict the future, although in Kuroo’s case, his dreams were so vague that he couldn’t bother trying to work out what it meant.

 

A few weeks ago, he had the dream where there were shooting stars that were flying across at the sky. And then the seventh star came shooting down into a lake surrounded by a lot of dark trees. The shooting star sunk into the lake, and the lake became a deep crimson.

 

This was a really worrying dream. Although the dreams from before weren’t so light and happy as well, this one seemed so dark and vivid.

 

Two days later, Kuroo got hit in the face with Inuoka’s serve. Inuoka’s **_seventh_** serve.

 

Blood had exploded form his nose, and Kuroo had guessed that that was what symbolised the crimson lake. The lake being his face, the red colour being his blood.

 

He reminded himself not to worry too much about the dreams from that day (he didn’t have to stay up every night with a baseball bat to protect himself from house-intruding murderers, what a waste of sleeping time).

 

Kuroo recalled this night’s unusual dream. Strangely vivid, but somewhat clouded. No specific details on the setting. What was with the boy and the huge shadow? Technically, they were both shadows, but his mind insisted that the little one was a boy. The larger one was just nothing, not a man, not a woman, just an enormous dark figure. 

 

What could this possibly mean…?

 

The big one wanted something. Really bad, probably. But it said that it wanted the boy’s life. Why? 

 

Kuroo shook his head. _‘You can’t overthink these dreams. Think simple.’_

 

What if the large shadow wasn’t asking for the boy’s life, but was asking for the life of a certain object? Like, wanting to keep a toy forever, therefore claiming it’s life…?

 

Kuroo groaned. His head was hurting. Working his brain so early in the morning was definitely not a great start to the day. He swung his legs back up on the bed, not bothering to cover himself with the blanket. It was way too hot to do that. He squeezed his head in between the two pillows, and settled down in his favourite position.

 

He shouldn’t be thinking about that dream. It would probably end up being another stupid situation.

 

Quietly, Kuroo dozed off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Early morning. Eat breakfast. Go to school. Talk to classmates until the bell rings. School begins. Then school ends. Go to practice. End practice. Walk home. Eat dinner while chatting with family members. Do homework. Take a shower. Then go to sleep.

 

This happened today as well, the daily cycle for Daichi Sawamura.

 

With a slight twist.

 

“I’m home!”

 

“Welcome back!” Sawamura’s mother was in the kitchen, making dinner for tonight. Her white wings shifted with every movement.

 

Sawamura was greeted by a heavenly smell. “Okaa-san, is it curry today?”

 

“Yep! It felt like we hadn’t eaten it in a while, so I made it!” His mother grinned. 

 

“I’ll leave the mail on the table here.”

 

“Okay. You go and get changed. Let’s see…”

 

Sawamura headed to his room when suddenly his mother called for him.

 

“Daichi! There’s one addressed to you!”

 

A letter for him? Huh.

 

“I think I know what it is. Just wait!” Sawamura quickly tossed his bag onto his bed before walking to the kitchen, where his mother held a fairly large and thick envelope. Sawamura took one glance at it and noticed what it was.

 

“Yeah, this is the report from the doctor. You know, how I had physical and ability exams at school?”

 

“Oh, I see.” His mother nodded. “Well then, take that to your room and have a read. I’m sure that there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

“Uhuh.” Sawamura headed back to his room, sat on his bed, and looked at the envelope in his hands. For some reason, these health reports made him nervous even though he knew that he was perfectly fine.

 

_‘Were these always so thick?’_

 

He tore it open, careful not to damage the papers inside. He pulled the sheets out and winced at the amount of writing on it. It was the usual, the same as every year. 

 

‘ _Your son, Sawamura Daichi, has had a physical and ability exam… sufficient amount of exercise for a healthy growing child… vitamins… blah blah blah. It’s the same.’_

 

But then Sawamura noticed something. A few extra pages that were never there before. He examined the print.

 

_‘Your son, Sawamura Daichi, was examined further due to the concern of the doctor who inspected him. We have discovered…’_

 

Sawamura gasped. This couldn’t be true. He read some more.

 

_‘This can’t be true.’_

 

He dashed out his room, opening the door as it made a huge thudding noise.

 

“Daichi! I told you not to bang the door open-”

 

“Okaa-san!” Sawamura was breathing heavily. His hand held a few sheets of paper.

 

“I… It…” He looked up, tears brimming in his eyes. “It says that I can grow my wings back…”

 

The ladle that his mother was holding dropped to the floor. It spilt some curry on the ground, but that wasn’t of her concern right now.

 

“D-Daichi, let me see…” He voice shook.

 

Sawamura handed over the papers. She took it and examined the sheet. The more she read, the tighter the grasp on the sheets became.

 

“Oh - oh… darling…” She dropped the papers and hugged her son. 

 

“Darling - oh, darling, my baby. You can get your wings back!” His mother started sobbing uncontrollably. Sawamura knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. 

 

“I - I thought I that I would live forever, being shunned - but Okaa-san, I can have wings… I can be part of the family!” Sawamura started shedding a few tears of his own before broke down and started crying openly. 

 

“No, Daichi. No matter what, you will always be part of the family. No matter what.”

 

“Okaa-san…” Sawamura hiccupped. “Thank you, Okaa-san…”

 

The mother and son sat there together for a while, a blubbering mess of tears and snot. They continued to hug each other, whispering about how much they loved each other and how they will continue to love each other no matter what happens.

 

_‘I can have wings. I won’t just have two useless stumps on my back. I’ll have real wings!’_

“Well, I love you darling, but maybe I should take care of the curry now.” Sawamura’s mother laughed, and he laughed along with her.

 

“Yeah. We need to eat.” Sawamura sniffed.

 

They both got up and started preparing for their dinner, with Sawamura laying out the utensils and his mother scooping out the curry and putting it on their plates, along with their rice.

 

_‘I can’t believe it. I’m really gonna have wings… I should tell Sugawara and Asahi as soon as possible tomorrow.’_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected attack.
> 
> A one-sided fight.
> 
> He was taken away.

_The man leaned against the wall, rubbing his hands together for what seemed like the millionth time. He took out a photo from his beige coat’s pocket. A boy with silvery hair lay within the cheap plastic frame. He was fairly handsome, the sort of type to have secret admirers watching him from afar, hoping that he would notice their love…_

 

_‘Honestly, when is he coming? I’ve been waiting for what, like, an hour now!’ He groaned, and shifted his position again to avoid the recurring inconvenience of numb legs._

 

_After about a minute, he stopped all movement. There were footsteps coming from around the corner. Using a little mirror, he checked whether it was his certain target or not._

 

_Yes. It was the silver haired boy. He was looking down at his phone, not aware of any presence around him._

 

 

_‘I really hate doing these jobs. I really do. Sorry, silver boy.’_

 

_—————_

 

Sugawara winced at his phone. Why did ten of his contacts suddenly disappear? Maybe it was that weird pop up ad that he accidentally clicked on yesterday. Although the contacts erased were from people he didn’t really know, it was still annoying. He should get to school quickly and get it checked by Asahi or Sawamura.

 

_‘Maybe it’s a virus. Should I -”_

 

Sugawara’s thoughts were forcibly brought to an end as a stranger jumped on him as he passed the corner of a brick wall.

 

“Oh boy, I really don’t like this. Don’t blame me.”

 

The stranger wrapped his hands around Sugawara’s neck, and squeezed. He was obviously skilled in this sort of activity, because after a few seconds, Sugawara was on the verge of blacking out.

 

“DON’T TOUCH SUGA!” 

 

The stranger was teared off Sugawara as Sawamura ran up and punched him in the face. He gave the stranger an extra kick in the crotch, leaving him to whimper on the side of the pathway as he hurriedly checked on Sugawara.

 

“Suga! Hey!” Sawamura propped Sugawara up with his arms. 

 

Sugawara couldn’t say anything. What was that all of a sudden, out of nowhere? What had he done in his life to deserve this unexpected event? He gasped for air as the thoughts screamed in his head, black spots coming and going in his sight.

 

“Hm. That was a nice punch you threw there, boy.” It was the dangerous stranger in the beige trench coat, who was already standing up even after that strike to the painful area.

 

“What do you want with Suga? Who are you?” Sawamura needed answers, **_now_**. Who was this man, to hurt his closest friend?

 

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, boy. I just need to take him. Give him to me.” The man reached into a pocket in his coat and pulled out a gun. “I don’t want things to get dirty.”

 

“Look, I don’t know what you want with Suga, but -”

 

The man pulled the trigger and made a hole in the brick wall. It happened in a flash. 

 

“This gun is real. I can put a hole in your head in mere seconds. Hand him over.”

 

Sawamura grimaced. What should he do? He had to consider everything. Why did he want Suga? Who was he? Trying to run away sounded like a dangerous idea, considering the gun in this strange man’s hands, no to mention that he also could have a harmful ability.

 

“…No. I won’t let you take him.” Sawamura held Sugawara closer to him. Sugawara stirred. “D…Daichi?”

 

The stranger stared at the two boys before sighing. “I got the orders to take the silver boy without killing him or anyone else.”

 

Sawamura breathed out. Thank god. No one was going to die. 

 

“However.”

 

“U-ugh!” Sugawara was suddenly swept off the floor by a long metal pole. Yes, a long metal pole which had bent over smoothly to fetch the young boy and lift him into the air.

 

“The big boss never mentioned how much I could torture anyone.” The stranger continued to talk as if nothing was going on. Sugawara struggled to get out of the grasp of the metal pole, but it was useless. He couldn’t get out.

 

_‘So his power is to bend things! Okay, think, what can I do, what can -’_ Sawamura’s train of thought was cut off when an abrupt punch landed on his stomach, sending him to collide with a bunch of bushes on someone else’s property. A pain that Sawamura had never felt before spread inside of him. He couldn’t talk. He drew in a sharp breath. Ouch. It hurt.

 

“Daichi!” Tears formed in Sugawara’s eyes. “You asshole! Let me go! Let him go!”

 

The stranger ignored his cries, and walked towards Sawamura, who was trying to get up. Sawamura was only a high-schooler. He wasn’t supposed to know the feeling of being punched in the stomach at full force from an adult at that age, let alone in his whole entire life until he died. 

 

The stranger crouched down in front of Sawamura. “Hey, look, I told you that I didn’t want to get things dirty. But you just had to interfere with my job.” He slapped Sawamura on the face, leaving a vicious red mark burning on Sawamura’s cheek. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He had bitten his lip. 

 

“I can bend things. You’ve probably noticed by know, right?” He made a gesture with his hand, and a stick nearby slowly bent itself until it broke completely in half, making a sickening _snap_ sound.

 

“I haven’t tried before, but I’m sure if I tried enough, I could twist that weak little body of yours. Just like that stick, I could slowly bend you until you snap.” He then lifted the gun and poked it into Sawamura’s leg. “You’re so weak. I wouldn’t even have to use my ability to get you severely hurt.”

 

“Hey!” 

 

The stranger looked up. Sugawara was staring down at him from above, still stuck with the metal pole. “I don’t know what you want with me, but stop hurting Daichi! Please…” 

 

While the stranger was kicking and punching Sawamura, Sugawara had been watching everything from up high, crying out useless protests. He had been crying, and when Sawamura got the harsh punch in the stomach, he felt a sense of inner pain and… guilt? Yes, guilt, because his best friend got dragged into this chaos because of him. 

 

“I - I can do whatever you want! You can hurt me, take me wherever you want me to go! Let him free, and take me instead!” Sugawara’s voice cracked as he spoke.

 

The stranger stared at the flailing silver boy in the sky for a while before turning his head back to Sawamura on the ground. He was an absolute mess, and although those hits should've knocked him out cold, he was still somehow conscious and trying to get up. 

 

“Hm. Okay. I guess I went a bit overboard.” The stranger motioned towards the metal pole, which bent down towards him. He took hold of Sugawara and quickly tied him up and gagged him before he could launch an attack.

 

“Oh, look! Your horns!” The stranger giggled, poking at the ends of Sugawara’s horns. They had slipped out when Sugawara lost all focus. Sugawara gasped and the horns sunk back in. 

 

Sawamura couldn’t move. He wanted to get up and beat the hell out of the freaky stranger, but every move he made generated a sense of pain so strong that he just couldn’t do anything. Fingers twitching and blackness hovering over his eyesight, Sawamura just barely managed to make out some words.

 

“Why… do you want… Suga?” His voice was raspy and raw.

 

“Why? I’m afraid I can’t tell you, boy.” He grinned.

 

Sawamura wanted more information. Why? Just why? Why was everything going on like this? Who was he? Where did he come from? And also, why wasn’t he surprised to see Suga having horns?

 

“I know everything about this silver darling.”

 

The edge of the stranger’s trench coat brushed against Sawamura’s cheek as the man whispered into his ear. His voice sent shivers up his spine.

 

“I know that he’s a demon. Don’t be so surprised.”

 

He really knew everything. How? Sawamura wanted to ask, but his consciousness was slipping away. His vision blurred, but before he completely blacked out, the last thing he saw was the stranger in the trench coat stuffing Sugawara into a black car and starting the engine.

 

_“Don’t go,”_ he wanted to say. _“Don’t take Suga.”_

 

But his consciousness had finally left him. The black car drove off swiftly into the distance as the young boy slumped against the bushes, bloody and bruised.

 

* * *

 

“Like I said, you really didn’t need to block the area! If someone had seen me fighting, I could’ve dealt with them as well! Really, you could trust me a bit more…” 

 

Sugawara quietly listened to the stranger shout into the phone as he tried to shift into a sitting position in the back seat of the car. His hands and feet were tied up, and the gag on his mouth prevented him from talking. 

 

“Well, yeah, if the boss says so, then I guess I can’t complain… but can’t you at least try? I did my best to get these brats, you know! And they were annoying! I deserve a treat!”

 

Who on earth was this man talking to? And according to what Sugawara could hear, this attack had been all planned. Who was it that wanted him so badly that they would hurt the people closest to his heart?

 

“Really, what an asshole. Sheesh.” The stranger had finished the conversation of the phone. He put the cell down next to him and continued to drive, eyes straight in front of him, on the road.

 

“… Brat, we’re going to be in this car for about an hour.”

 

Sugawara remained silent. Well, even if he wanted to say something, his mouth was bound by a gag. 

 

“I’m sorry for what happened back there. It’s just orders from the higher ups. I just do what they tell me to do, okay?”

 

…

 

“I need to earn more money, you know? I’ve been working in this underground organisation for about six years now. I’ve been in the soldier squad for so long, and I really want to get a higher position. Like a general, where I can order people around! So I tend to do more than I’m told to do, and I just hope that it gets me some recognition.”

 

…

 

“I also kinda like throwing a few punches, you know? I got a bit angry when your friend disobeyed me, and that punch I launched on him was by instinct. Even I got a bit surprised when I realised what I did. Then I got a bit excited, I guess. I hadn’t had a fight in ages. Although this one was one-sided.”

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

Sugawara was fuming. He wanted to scream at this insane psychopath, but he knew the risks were too high, and once again, he could not speak because of the gag. What the hell was he talking about? How would a one-sided fight get any recognition from some shitty higher ups? He would get recognition for being stupid, if anything! And beating up a kid probably decades younger than him? And having fun, on top of that? This trench coat stranger was a fucking asshole. No wonder the big boss in his underground organisation didn’t give him a higher status.

 

He glared at the driver. He was humming some weird tune.

 

Sugawara wanted this to all stop. He wished that this stupid attacker had never appeared this morning, he wished that he was never kidnapped, he really wished that Daichi had never been hurt.

 

But all these wishes were pointless. He was in the organisation’s hands now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawamura is desperate. 
> 
> Sugawara is afraid.
> 
> Everything is cold and grey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I re-read this shitty fanfic of mine from the start to where it's currently up to, and I realised that I really dragged things on and on and on... and not to mention that I made mistakes I never noticed and I JUST CRINGE AT WHAT I WROTE LIKE WHAT WAS I THINKING BACK THEN   
> Okay so Sugawara is not in a nice situation right now I swear I love him he's a precious angel

The muffled mess of people whispering all together at the same time was what woke Sawamura up. His eyes peeled open to be greeted by the white ceiling and the lightbulb in the centre. He just lay down there for a while, not thinking about anything. 

 

_“I - I can do whatever you want! You can hurt me, take me wherever you want me to go! Let him free, and take me instead!”_

 

Oh.

 

He remembered.

 

“Oh shit, shit, shit! Suga!” He yelled and sat up immediately, just to gasp in pain. It felt like his insides had been kicked and tossed around. A sore ache punched his head at the sudden rise of his body.

 

“D-Daichi!” Asahi ran out from behind the white curtain next to Sawamura’s hospital bed. “Are you okay? What happened?”

 

“Asahi-kun, calm down. Don’t bombard him with questions as soon as he wakes up.” A man in a white coat, presumably a doctor, told Asahi. Asahi reeled back, hands out and twitching in worry.

 

“Sawamura-kun, good morning. Or should I say, afternoon. You’ve been out for hours.”

 

“Sugawara! I need to save Sugawara!” 

 

“Calm down.” The doctor cleared his throat, and crossed his leg over the other. “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

Sawamura grimaced. Sugawara could be anywhere by now, being used or tortured or whatever bad things could possibly happen to a victim of a violent kidnapping. He really didn’t have the time to explain everything.

 

…

 

Alright, he had to calm down. More people on his side gave him a higher chance of being able to find Sugawara and get him to safety. He took a few deep breaths, and began to explain the chaotic events that happened to him in the morning.

 

* * *

 

Minutes before the black car arrived to it’s final destination, it stopped at a petrol station, where the kidnapper bought some water and fed Sugawara a medicine. Sugawara had resisted, afraid of what this strange pill would do to him, but the man was too strong. It was forcefully stuck down his throat. 

 

After a while, Sugawara began to feel sleepy. He didn’t want to sleep. What if he never woke up again? But regardless of what he thought, he drifted off to sleep, caressed by the darkness that he didn’t want to see. The man checked once, then twice to see that the silver haired boy was properly unconscious, then started the car and continued to drive to it’s destination.

 

* * *

 

“Wake up.”

 

A deep voice and a hard shake on his shoulder startled Sugawara. He snapped his eyes open, but all he could see was blackness. Again. He was blindfolded. His arms and legs were bound together by some rough rope. It hurt.

 

“You are Sugawara Koushi-kun, correct?” The deep voice questioned.

 

Sugawara processed some thoughts. Although he really felt like it, a sassy answer probably wouldn’t help in his current situation. An honest answer would be correct… maybe.

 

“Yes.” Sugawara replied, and waited for the other man to say something back. But he wasn’t told anything, and a cold silence was what greeted him back. His horns scraped against the ground, giving him no satisfaction of resting his head. He snapped them back in.

 

After a few minutes, he heard a door open, and a pair of high heels clacked into the space. So a woman this time, huh? 

 

“Remove his blindfold. I want to see his face.” The woman demanded. 

 

Hands came down over Sugawara’s head, and the piece of cloth loosened and fell onto the ground. Although he couldn’t see upright due to the fact that he was lying on the ground (which was very cold and uncomfortable), he could see that he was in a small grey room, and in front of him was a black carpet and a red armchair with a woman sitting on it. He saw her black high heeled boots, all laced up and polished. His eyes moved up, and he saw her black-stockinged legs, then her thick black coat, then her golden necklace, and then he moved his eyes up to where…

 

her face was.

 

…

 

Or more like, where her face was _supposed_ to be. This woman’s identity was covered up with a simple piece of black cloth. He couldn’t see her face, but the woman could clearly see his, judging by the way her neck was curiously angled. Even if he knew who this person was, he would only be able to use the clues of their personality and physical appearance, although when it came to physical appearance, the woman’s legs were all that Sugawara could guess from. The rest of her body was wrapped up in clothes so thick that she seemed like a round black ball. 

 

“He’s so _cute_!”

 

_‘What?’_ Sugawara was surprised at the woman’s unexpected statement. _‘Uh, thank you?’_

 

“Hello, Sugawara Koushi. Nice to meet you. Sorry about your sudden invitation. I just wanted to see you as fast as I could!” And then she clicked her tongue in distaste. “Although that stupid _douchebag_ who brought you here just had to involve another person in our personal matters. Now we’re gonna be chased after…”

 

Was this woman talking about Daichi? Sugawara remembered Sawamura, being beat up by the stranger in the trench coat, and then being left unconscious as Sugawara and his kidnapper drove away. Hopefully someone found him and treated his wounds. And hopefully he told others about the kidnapping. He wanted to get out of this weird place, like, right now.

 

“I’m sure you didn’t like him either. I never noticed him until I assigned him the mission. I was sure that every one of my subordinates could handle a job as easy as that with ease, but it seems like I was wrong.” She snickered. “He told me that he was so sorry, that he would take caution next time, but I don’t like people who make mistakes. Especially while thinking that it’s okay to do so. So I got rid of him.”

 

Got rid of him…? Sugawara wasn’t sure how to interpret that. Did she fire him? Or did she…

 

“I killed him.” The woman, as if she had read his thoughts, said. “Or more precisely, I let A-kun over there kill him. That pest was never worth my time.” 

 

A-kun, the enormous man who had undone Sugawara’s blindfold, shifted at the mention of his code name. Sugawara quickly looked him up and down. Boy, was he _scary_. His eyes had a mean look in them, his arms were bulging and his hands were huge. It would be easy for him to snap Sugawara’s neck and kill him instantly. 

 

He swallowed thickly.

 

“Koushi-chan, I want you to relax.” She gestured A-kun to come over. “A-kun, untie him.” Sugawara stiffened as A-kun undid the knots, which was somewhat surprising to him, seeing as this giant man had incredibly thick fingers. The ropes fell to the floor, and Sugawara was finally free to move. The first thing he did was to sit up. His side and back ached from the prolonged session of lying down on his side on the hard grey ground. 

 

“What… do you want from me?” His voice shook. It wasn’t unexpected. Sugawara was extremely scared, after all. Who knew what these people would do to him? All he could think about at the moment was torture, beatings, ransoms, and other problematic issues that he knew of when it came to kidnappings.

 

“Hmm? All I want from you, Koushi-chan, is…”

 

Sugawara gulped.

 

“Nothing!” She laughed. “Don’t worry, Koushi-chan. I won’t ever hurt you until the time comes.”

 

“What… what time?” Sugawara cautiously asked. 

 

“Alright, no more questions! A-kun, send him to his room!” At the woman’s command, A-kun walked next to Sugawara, and rested his giant hand on his shoulder, ensuring that he wouldn’t run away. Not that Sugawara would even try, though. He knew perfectly well that he was outclassed in this situation. He let A-kun escort him out of the room, and before the door shut behind the two, Sugawara looked back just in time to see the black-clad woman wave at him.

 

The two walked down a long grey hallway, went through doors that lead to more long hallways and not once did any of the two utter a word. In Sugawara’s case, he was afraid of talking. The woman had said that she wouldn’t hurt him until a certain time came… but who knew when that time would arrive for him? 

 

The pair stopped in front of a door. It was a plain door, just like all of the others that they had come across. 

 

The door opened.

 

“This way, Sugawara-sama.” Another man with pale skin and dyed blonde hair smiled at him from inside the room. 

 

The room was huge. It about as big as the gym at school, possibly even bigger. One huge bed sat in the middle of the area, and around it were pieces of luxurious furniture that looked as if it were more expensive than a car. Although the room seemed perfect, fit for royalty, there was something missing that chilled Sugawara.

 

There were no windows. 

 

In such a huge room, there were absolutely no windows. The room was lit by only the lightbulbs and lamps situated in the room. No natural sunlight was allowed inside. He couldn’t tell what it was like outside. Not to mention that there were also no clocks. He wouldn’t be able to tell the time.

 

The pale man and A-kun excused themselves, walking out of the room and shutting the door. Now it was just Sugawara alone. He didn’t bother looking around the room for now. He just walked towards the bed and sat down on it, silently admiring the softness of the fabric.

 

BZZZ

 

Sugawara’s head snapped towards the front wall, and noticed the huge monitor screen attached. The screen buzzed to black and white, and then settled down to show the figure of the woman, with her cloth mask on as always. 

 

“Koushi-chan! Do you like the room I arranged for you? I made sure to get the most expensive equipment - fit just for a sweetie like you!”

 

“What’s your point of keeping me here?” Sugawara finally got the courage to strike an irritated expression at the screen. 

 

“Don’t be so angry! You’ll stay in that room most of the time. You’ll be given all necessities - food water, clothing, you name it. I’ll make sure that you get the best of everything. Your meals will be first class, and you’ll be given the finest clothes. There are some clothes in the wardrobe, if you want to get out of your dirty uniform, by the way. If you need anything, just knock on your door, and someone will get you what you want.”

 

“I want to get out of here.” Sugawara blurted out. Then he regretted it instantly. 

 

“You want to get out…?” The woman growled, changing the mood straight away. “I offer you these great gifts and you want to get out? What’s so good about going to school everyday and listening to adults drone nothingness into your brain? You’re going to stay here, and if you even attempt to escape, I’ll have you know that things won’t turn out pretty.”

 

She sighed. “Well, I don’t blame you for wanting to get out. You were kidnapped first thing in the morning, and was drugged and dropped on a cold concrete floor when you came here. But don’t you worry, I’ll make sure that you have the best time in this cozy room.”

 

And then she smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“And soon, I’ll have another sweet child to join you here…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a lovely Christmas everyone!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawamura is questioned.
> 
> Oikawa is targeted.
> 
> Two victims work together.

“Daichi…” Sawamura’s mother held him tightly, her white wings brushing against his cheek. “I’m so sorry Daichi… we’ll get your friend back soon, I’m sure of it.” 

 

Sawamura nodded. Every movement he made hurt, not to mention that his wings were growing too, in which the process couldn’t necessarily be called ‘painless.’ The doctors had said that, with his mother being part angel, hence the white wings, and his father being a tengu, his own wings would not be pure black, but with a mix of white as well. It wasn’t like he didn’t like having white bits in them, he just thought that it would be funny if they were all black, a joke to the wording of ‘the crows of Karasuno.’ 

 

“Sawamura-san, Daichi-kun.” The doctor called. “Some detectives have arrived to question you.”

 

Three men, two in suits and one in a police uniform, walked in and stood in front of Sawamura’s hospital bed. “Nice to meet you. We’re from the police and we’re going to ask you some questions today, Daichi-kun. It’s all to help your friend, so it would be helpful if you could answer as honestly as possible.” The man in the blue suit said. 

 

“Okay.” Sawamura replied.

 

“Well then, we’ll introduce ourselves. The woman on the right of me is Detective Morohoshi. The man on the left is Officer Hosoya. I’m Detective Akaashi, a pleasure to meet you.” 

 

Sawamura shook hands with all of them, noting that they had some sort of dignified air around them - so these were what real detectives were like…

 

Then he noticed something.

 

“Wait, Akaashi? Akaashi Keiji? (Detective in Japanese : Keiji)

 

“Oh, do you know my son? Akaashi Keiji. Not as in the detective ‘keiji’, but the name ‘Keiji.’ I see, so you’re part of that problematic volleyball team from Karasuno! He’s told me a lot about you guys!” The man lightened up at the mention of his son. “You see, my son doesn’t really appreciate his name being pronounced the same way as ‘detective.’ Ever since he was little, he would complain that the kids were teasing him because our family has a long history of being police officers or detectives. They would call him ‘Keiji Keiji!’ You know, like ‘Detective Keiji!’ But he loves his name, I’m sure.” 

 

He chuckled, a hearty sound that somehow seemed to warm the mood. 

 

“Enough about my son. Let’s move on to our interview.”

 

“Okay.”

 

They all sat down on plastic stools, facing Sawamura. Detective Morohoshi and Detective Akaashi brought out notebooks and pens while Officer Hosoya took out a voice recorder. 

 

“You don’t have to be so tense. Relax, and just answer the questions, okay?”

 

Sawamura didn’t need them telling him that. He was going to answer everything as detailed as he could, stretching his memory out as far as it could go.

 

Detective Akaashi noticed the resolve in his eyes. 

 

“Right, we’ll begin now.”

 

* * *

 

“Shittykawa, let’s go to practice.”

 

“You go first, Iwa-chan! I need to go somewhere else right now. I’ll go straight afterwards!”

 

Iwaizumi sighed. “Another confession…?” 

 

Oikawa grinned. “Yep! I got a letter in my shoe locker. They want me to meet them outside the school gates! I’ll have to turn it down though, since this could lead to a massive shock to many more lovely ladies…” 

 

“Shut up and just go, asshole.”

 

“Jealous, Iwa-chan?”

 

“Wha - n-no, just go already, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi said, flustered.

 

“Weird. Then I’ll be right back!” Oikawa made one of his trademark winks, and walked off. Iwaizumi watched his back grow smaller before he disappeared behind the walls. 

 

“… Idiot.” Iwaizumi sighed, and walked towards the volleyball clubroom.

 

Meanwhile, Oikawa was excited about this confession he had received. He hadn’t received any love letters in awhile, just some gifts like chocolate and biscuits. Every time he was confessed to, he had to turn it down, seeing as the last time he had a girlfriend, things went down pretty badly because he had volleyball to practice and obsess to.

 

Oikawa walked further down the wall of the school, in search of this mysterious lady. 

 

“Oikawa-san…”

 

Oikawa turned around, and in front of him stood a girl. She was an absolute beauty, from her head to her toes. What stood out most about her were her giant breasts that bounced with every movement. Oikawa tried not to stare so hard.

 

“Are you the girl who sent the letter?” Oikawa asked, slightly taken aback by her appearance.

 

“Yes. Can you come with me please? It’s too noisy here.”

 

Oikawa nodded, although he didn’t really think that it was so noisy where they were. Yes, there were some student coming and going, but besides that there wasn’t much of a commotion going on. “Sure. I’ll follow you.”

 

They walked down the street together, to a quiet corner near a small restaurant, which was closed. 

 

“Oikawa-san, I…” The girl began, and Oikawa’s heart fluttered. No matter how many times he was confessed to, the feeling was always the same - nervous and slightly happy. 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

As soon as the girl finished her sentence, before Oikawa could even react to the odd ‘confession,’ her hands shot out and clamped around his neck. She squeezed, and surprisingly, she was insanely strong. Oikawa tried to pull free, scratching at his attacker and kicking her, but her grasp on his throat was metal, and he couldn’t do anything about it. His consciousness slowly began to fade away, and eventually, he blacked out.

 

* * *

 

“Iwaizumi! Where’s Oikawa?”

 

“He went to turn down a confession.”

 

“Lucky asshole.” 

 

Iwaizumi spun a volleyball in his hands. “A confession doesn’t take this long, though. I wonder what’s keeping him up.”

 

Matsukawa laughed. “As much as a flirt he is, I’m sure that he’ll be back soon. He has this life consumed by volleyball, after all.”

 

Iwaizumi nodded. “Yeah.”

 

—————

 

“…Yes, it’s fine, sir. I’ve got him.”

 

…

 

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

 

She hung up. Although the road in front was completely clear of any cars, she drove slowly. She knew that caution and awareness was what was important in this job, and as she had heard from some of the generals, the person who had taken care of the first job had done it stupidly enough to be killed. She was going to be as careful as she could with this mission, or else she would have her life taken as well. 

 

She stared into the rear-view mirror, where she could see the boy lying down, hands and feet bound, passed out on the back seat. He was handsome, she had to admit. It had been a while since she saw a face so perfect. To be honest, it made her heart skip a beat when it came to the fake confession. It would be nice if she could return to her youthful days…

 

Her face, beautiful as it was, wasn’t her own. She had looked into a Vivi magazine and picked out the prettiest face she could find. She changed back to her own face - a plain face, with no distinctive features at all. 

 

“Huh, so that’s your ability?”

 

She gasped, taking a sudden swerve on the wheel. Since when was he awake? 

 

She calmed down, taking in a few deep breaths and driving properly again. 

 

“Since when were you awake?” She tried not to sound so surprised. 

 

“I was awake from when you finished your phone call. Who are you and what do want from me?”

 

She looked into the mirror. He was there, all tied up and glaring directly at her. He wanted answers, right now.

 

“I was simply sent to get you. I know nothing about the purpose of my mission.” She stated.

 

She continued to drive, bearing the deathly glare being burned into her back constantly. After what seemed like hours, the woman drove to a stop at the side of the road. The area was completely empty - no people, no cars, just a road and some trees. It seemed like they were descending deeper into a forest. She took out a water bottle and some pills. 

 

“You’re going to make me swallow that?” Oikawa eyed the suspicious pills that she held in her hand.

 

“Yes. I suggest you open your mouth quietly unless you want to be hurt.”

 

“I don’t think anyone _wouldn’t_ try to resist. I mean, who knows what those pills will do to me?”

 

“These pills simply make you fall asleep. We don’t want you to know where our headquarters are.”

 

Oikawa was going to snap back when the woman shoved the pills and water into his open mouth. She forcefully shut it until he had no choice but to swallow. 

 

“Just stay quiet. It’s for your own good.” 

 

_‘Bitch,’_ Oikawa thought as he passed out into the darkness once more.

 

* * *

 

Sugawara was bored out of his mind. Sure, he had video games and books in the room, and he could also just ask for whatever he wanted to the people outside, but he didn’t want to. Not to _them_. 

 

He lay down on the bed, thinking about all the chaos he was put through before coming here. It was still like a dream. He couldn’t believe that he was here, trapped in a huge room with everything but felt like it had nothing. After the monitor had buzzed out when the black-clothed woman had announced her plan - including what she said about bringing another ‘child’ in, which was weird - Sugawara had taken a shower and changed out of his uniform, into a shirt and shorts that he had found in the wardrobe. They were all pieces of clothing from the most popular and expensive brands. He didn’t like it, to use what his kidnappers gave him, but the uniform was too damaged and dirty to continue wearing it.

 

There were so many questions that Sugawara wanted to ask. Why was he here? What was the woman planning to do?

 

And also…

 

Why was there another door in the room?

 

It was the question that had been bugging Sugawara ever since he came into the room. One door for going in and out, and another door, on the wall opposite to the monitor. Unlike the door that he was escorted into, the other one was a large double door, with two handles. Of course, it was locked. 

 

BZZZ

 

Sugawara knew that sound. It was from the monitor! The screen whirred before showing the masked face of the black-clothed woman, waving her gloved hand. 

 

“Koushi-chan! How are you in there?” 

 

Sugawara decided not to reply. The woman didn’t seem to mind it. She moved on immediately.

 

“Koushi-chan, I’m sure you’ve been feeling lonely, right? I mean, it would be pretty hard to stay there without any friends! So we have another sweetie here!”

 

Sugawara was shocked. She kidnapped another person? He thought she was joking! But thinking about it, it was definitely not a situation to be joking in. 

 

…

 

As much as it pained him, he did feel slightly relieved. Relieved but also guilty for feeling that way. Although it had been only about a day since he was stuck in the room, he had longed for company. His thoughts kept on wandering off to Daichi, the last person he saw before he was taken away.

 

Sugawara jumped when the double doors behind him began to shake. The lock on the handle was slowly turning, and within seconds, the doors were open. Sugawara ran over and pulled the handles, and then panicked.

 

“O-Oikawa?!”

 

Yes, Oikawa. He was lying down on a bed identical to Sugawara’s, in an unconscious state. Sugawara shot by to his side and shook his shoulders. 

 

“Oikawa? Hey, what did you do to him?” He shouted angrily across the room to his monitor, before realising that there was an identical one, also turned on, in Oikawa’s room. 

 

The woman in black giggled. “No need to be so frightened, Koushi-chan. He’s just sleeping off the effects of the pill he took before. I’m sure you’ve experienced the same?”

 

Sugawara remembered the time when the kidnapper had stopped by a gas station and given him the pills. He remembered falling to sleep with nothing but anxiety on his mind. So Oikawa had to go through the same fright too…!

 

“When he wakes up, you can explain everything. That would break the ice. But from what I’ve seen, you two already know each other! Well then, bye bye!” 

 

And the screen fizzed to a black sheet, making the room quiet once more. Sugawara knelt next to Oikawa’s bed and watched him sleep. He wanted to wake him up and talk with him, belt out his inner emotions, but he knew that Oikawa needed to rest. He would need it before experiencing the peaceful hell that he would go through for the next few days, maybe weeks, or even possibly months. Who knew how long they would stay here for?

 

Sugawara buried his head in the soft mattress. He just wanted to get away from here. Sure, everything was there for him, his food, water, clothing and entertainment, but he wanted to go out and meet his friends, go to school, have fun at volleyball practice! 

 

He closed his eyes and burrowed though the memories stored in his head. The memories of him struggling in the volleyball club when he was a first year, becoming the official setter, meeting Kageyama and Hinata, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi… 

 

Being together with Daichi… 

 

He couldn’t help but let the tears flow. If he had known that he would be kidnapped and trapped in this hellish cage, he would’ve spent that time together with everyone with more care. Living life to the fullest.

 

He closed his eyes. The fabric beneath his face was wet with his tears. If only life could go back to how it was before. If only he had acted differently that time when he was taken. If only he could’ve been useful.

 

He cried some more.

 

* * *

 

“…ey! Hey! Refreshing-kun!” 

 

Sugawara strained to open his eyes. When had he fallen asleep? 

 

Oikawa was staring at him, a worrisome expression on his face. “Are you okay?” 

 

Sugawara sat up. “More like, are you okay? Were you attacked as well?” 

 

Oikawa scowled. “Yeah. I thought I was getting a confession, and all of a sudden I was strangled by a face-shifting woman. So apparently you’ve gone through the same, right?”

 

“Yeah.” Sugawara nodded. “We were both kidnapped and brought here. I’ve asked, but they won’t tell us what they want. The leader, a woman in black, said that we wouldn’t be hurt ‘until the time comes.’ I’m concerned about that, but for the time being, I don’t think they’ll try to attack us like that again.”

 

Sugawara continued to explain the string of events that had happened to him, what they needed to know, what the woman had said on the monitor, the room’s belongings and so on.

 

“Wait - Oikawa, you have horns?” Sugawara gasped in surprise. Oikawa’s horns had popped out, mingling in with his messy brown hair. 

 

“Oh - y-yeah, I have horns. I…” And then Oikawa remembered. He remembered that time, when he saw Sugawara’s neck at the matches. 

 

“Sugawara.” Oikawa’s tone of voice had turned a lot more serious. 

 

“Hm?” 

 

“Are you… a Sin Demon?” 

 

Sugawara panickedly waved his hands and replied, “No, no, no, no? Haha, of course not!” He had to get an excuse to get out of the situation. 

 

“Don't worry.” Oikawa grabbed Sugawara’s flailing arm. “I’m a Sin Demon too.”

 

Sugawara’s mouth dropped open. No way! Two Sin Demons happening to be living in the same prefecture in Japan? Also, being in rivalling volleyball teams? 

 

“I happened to notice your gem. On the back of your neck.” Oikawa gestured towards his throat, then proceeded to lift up his uniform pants to reveal the violet gem on his inner thigh. 

 

“That’s - just wow. I never noticed. I never suspected anything.” Sugawara murmured.

 

“I’m from the sin of Pride. You?”

 

Sugawara gulped. “I’m from the sin of Lust.”

 

It was confirmed. They were both Sin Demons. It was the biggest thing they had in common that could have something to do with their kidnapping. 

 

“What could they want from us? I don’t understand…” Sugawara sighed. It was all so tiring.

 

“Let’s talk. Let’s just talk about everything. I want to get to the bottom of this - and get away safely from this prison. We need to do something about our situation.”

 

Oikawa looked Sugawara in the eye. 

 

He was completely right. Although Sugawara was so tired of everything, they had to do something to find out what it was that this underground organization wanted.

 

And also…

 

they had to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: haha keiji is akaashi's first name and it also means detective  
> Me: ...  
> Me: let's involve him in my shitty fic 
> 
> (basically the only reason why i decided to pull akaashi into this fic)
> 
> Pride = violet  
> Lust = dark blue


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara and Oikawa ask questions.
> 
> Sawamura and Iwaizumi meet.
> 
> A meeting commences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some trouble writing this chapter. The words didn't come as naturally as they did before, so this chapter might seem a bit forced. Still, I hope you enjoy what I've written!

Oikawa turned the shower off, standing with his head down and hair dripping wet. There was still so much to take in, his brain couldn’t receive it all at once. His thoughts right now were…messed up. Too many things going on. He pulled a towel out from the drawer and dried his locks, water spitting everywhere. He walked out of the bathroom and opened the wardrobe, immediately taken aback by the amount of clothes inside. And they all had great quality! After some thought, he took out a simple burly wood coloured shirt and some white shorts. He put them on and looked in the full-length mirror. He looked nice.

 

“Suga-chan? You done?” He leaned against the double doors, and heard some muffled shuffling.

 

“Yeah! You can open the doors now.” 

 

He pulled the door open, revealing the other room, exactly the same as his own. Sugawara was walking towards him, still in the same outfit as he was in yesterday.

 

“Suga-chan? Why don’t you get into another outfit? You wore that yesterday, right?” 

 

Sugawara shrugged. “I don’t like the idea of using what our kidnappers gave us. Although I will end up using it though.”

 

He pushed his way through the double doors and Oikawa, and threw himself onto Oikawa’s bed. “Also, aren’t you being a bit overly friendly? Already shortening my name and adding ‘chan’ when we’ve only met a few times before?”

 

Oikawa snorted. “Funny for you to say. You’re in my bed. My personal space.” 

 

Sugawara, clutching a huge pillow, rolled over onto his back. “Well, it seems like we’ll be here for a while anyways, so it’s all good. Unless we manage to get out somehow.”

 

“You talk about escape like it’s a joke.”

 

Sugawara laughed. “I don’t think of it as a joke. More like, I can’t really believe that this is happening in the first place.”

 

Oikawa nodded. “I got that feeling as well. I know it’s real, but like…it wish it was fake.” He sighed. “I wish that this was all a dream, and I’ll wake up, go to school, play volleyball.”

 

“Yeah.” The two fell into silence, thinking about their days before they were kidnapped and taken into this luxurious but weirdly uncomfortable place.

 

“Oikawa.” Sugawara gestured with his hand. “Come here. Sit on the bed.”

 

“Why are _you_ inviting me? I mean, that’s my bed…” Although Oikawa quietly complained under his breath, he still went to the bed and sat down on it to face Sugawara, cross legged. 

 

“You know, aside from you and I being Sin Demons, I always had so many things I wanted to ask you. Regarding, you know, volleyball and stuff.” 

 

“You seem so laid back. Every moment in this room makes me nervous…”

 

Sugawara smiled, although it wasn’t exactly like the ones he usually made. It seemed more strained. “I’m really nervous as well. So why don’t we loosen up by talking about other things?”

 

Oikawa noticed the overdone smile. Of course Suga-chan was nervous as well. Anyone would be, considering the situation. “Mm. Okay.”

 

“Well then, I have a question for you.” Sugawara leaned in, although there was no one to eavesdrop their conversation. “Did you really call me ‘Refreshing-kun’ in a match before?”

 

Oikawa became flustered. Out of what he could’ve asked, it was about _that?_ “W-Well, yeah, once. But!” Oikawa’s voice hardened. “You’re not refreshing at all! I was caught up in the moment! That’s all!” 

 

Sugawara snickered. “You sound like you're trying to cover it up.”

 

“I don’t need to cover anything up. I only speak the truth.” Oikawa hummed. “I have a question for you as well.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Apparently you rejected four girls in a row. I heard a rumour about it. What was with that?” Oikawa’s small grin grew wider as he saw Sugawara’s turn red as he began to panic. 

 

“What? Eh? How did people know about that?” 

 

Oikawa’s eyes widened. “Wait, it was true? I thought that it was something that people made up!”

 

Sugawara buried his face in his hands. “The girls…they just confessed one after another during the year, and I wasn’t really that interested in dating, so I just had to turn them down…” He snapped his head back up. “I don’t play around with girls or anything! Really! I just had no interest!”

 

“You’re unexpectedly popular, Suga-chan!” Then Oikawa frowned. “No, I guess it wasn’t really that unexpected. After all, you do have good looks.”

 

“Not really. My face is pretty plain, compared to yours. Some people say that your face drags in girls like moths to light.”

 

“Hmm? That’s a nice rumour going along. I hope it continues so that everyone can know me! And that would cause our volleyball team to have more fans, hopefully.”

 

“It seems like everything relates back to volleyball when I talk with you…” Sugawara heaved out an exaggerated sigh and put his hand on his forehead.

 

“Oh, is that so? I don’t mean to make it that way…it’s just that volleyball is always somewhere in the back of my head when I talk. That’s probably why I got dumped by my ex-girlfriend before.”

 

Sugawara gasped. “ _She_ dumped _you?_ Well, I guess any girl would be annoyed if their boyfriend kept on talking about something else that had nothing to do with her.”

 

Sugawara’s oblivious comment struck an arrow of guilt into Oikawa’s heart. “I don’t think I talked that much though. I think…”

 

The two flinched when both doors in both rooms were knocked on. Sugawara rushed to his room, leaving Oikawa alone in his.

 

“Oikawa-sama, we have your meal ready. Since you did not specify what kind of dish you would’ve wanted, we have prepared various sashimi and sushi, as well as some miso soup. A locked flap on the door opened, and a large tray pushed itself in. Oikawa, having already experienced this a few times, skilfully took the tray and put it down on the small table next to him. The person outside locked the hatch again. 

 

“Oikawa! Bring your food over here!” Sugawara, who was already sitting on his own huge dining table, waved at him. Oikawa lifted his tray and walked to him, and then sat down opposite the grey haired boy. 

 

“Itadakimasu.” Oikawa whispered, in unison with Sugawara. They took their chopsticks and began to eat in silence.

 

* * *

 

“Daichi-san! I’ve done my share!” Nishinoya, slightly out of breath, informed to the captain. 

 

“Thanks. You can go home now.” 

 

“No!” Nishinoya thumped his chest. “I will help my dear kouhais! If you have more jobs I could help out with, please just call me!” He smiled, and within a second, he was gone, using his super speed to find Hinata or Yamaguchi, one of the first-years. 

 

Sawamura smiled, then returned to his job - sticking up posters on the walls. It had a picture of Sugawara on it, with the headlines screaming ‘MISSING PERSON.’ Sugawara in the poster was smiling brightly, his hands in a victory sign. 

 

Who knew if he was still smiling like that right now.

 

He stuck up the last poster on the brick wall. He was pretty far away from Karasuno High right now - he felt like he should’ve spread the news further. The police were already searching for Sugawara, but there was nothing. No clues on where he could’ve gone. Absolutely nothing. They had been searching for about three weeks, and there was still not a single thing found that could lead to him. At first they thought it was ‘just the case of a teenager going through puberty,’ running away from home because of some stupid reason, but after being notified of Sawamura’s evidence of Sugawara being kidnapped, they began to dig in deeper into the case.

 

And all that Sawamura could do was to talk. To talk about that one time when he was taken, over and over again…

 

He slid down, his back against the wall and his head buried in his knees. It just felt so unreal, for something he only sees on television to be happening to them…

 

“Oh? Hey, aren’t you Karasuno’s captain?” 

 

Sawamura lifted his head up to see someone. He squinted before realising that that was…him! The ace of Aoba Jousai! He stood up, slightly embarrassed that someone saw him being all depressed. 

 

“Uh, yes. Hello.” He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, waiting for Iwaizumi to answer something back, but then he realised that he didn’t seem to be looking at him.

 

“Huh?”

 

Iwaizumi was staring at the poster he had just put up on the wall. The one with Sugawara’s bright smiling picture.

 

“So it was true…I mean, I knew it was true, but…”

 

Sawamura noticed the stack of papers in Iwaizumi’s hands, and sharply sucked in his breath.

 

It was a missing person poster. With a similar format as the one he was sticking up. With ‘MISSING PERSON’ on the top and with a picture of…

 

…with a picture of Oikawa smiling…

 

“You too…” Sawamura hadn’t intended to let Iwaizumi hear that, but it went through his ears anyway.

 

“Yeah. Oikawa’s been missing for about just over a week. Although the police are searching, nothing’s coming up. At all.”

 

“Us too.” Sawamura glared into the ground. “Now the whole of the Miyagi prefecture knows about us. The school with the missing kids from the volleyball club.”

 

Iwaizumi straightened his back and grabbed Sawamura’s shoulders. It was abrupt. 

 

“Don’t be so gloomy!” Iwaizumi, face right in front of Sawamura's, gave him a strong smile. “We’ll find them. They’ll be safe. I’m sure of it. You should be too.”

 

Sawamura felt some tears rising up. He forced them down. Just barely, though. 

 

“Yeah. Let’s work hard for them!”

 

They both patted each other’s back, giving each other encouragement and motivation. They had tokeep hold of their optimism. It was going to be all okay.

 

Hopefully.

 

* * *

 

_“So, everyone has done a fairly well done job so far.” The lady clothed in black from top to bottom crossed one leg over the over and flexed her fingers. “Except that there was one execution made for a soldier in your group, Kushida-san. I’m rather disappointed.”_

 

_A well built middle-aged man, also dressed partially in black, shot out of his chair and kneeled in front of the women, in a dogeza pose. The other eleven leaders simply watched._

 

_“I’m terribly sorry! I will take care of my group with my utmost effort! Please believe in me!” His voice shivered, a slight show of his terror in front of the most powerful being he had ever seen in his entire life._

 

_“A-kun.” At the mention of the lady’s right-hand man, Kushida threw his head back and stood up. His eyes were already full of tears although the woman had not said anything to him yet. The other generals sat in their red armchairs, heads bowed in silence. Everyone knew what was to come. The ill-fated end to this sad man._

 

_“No…no…!” Kushida tripped over nothing and fell to the floor. A-kun stomped up to him. His eyes had no emotion in them, even though he was holding the weight of someone else’s life in his own hands._

 

_“I’m sorry…” Kushida whimpered. “I swear I’ll do my best…”_

 

_“Your voice has no sincerity in it.” The woman said, eyes looking straight ahead from inside her masked face. “You’ve failed me once, and once is enough to know that you’re a bad general.”_

 

_“No…!” Before any other words were uttered from the petrified man’s mouth, A-kun took his head between his huge hands and twisted. No more sound could be heard anymore._

 

_“A-kun, clean it up.”_

 

_As A-kun lifted the lifeless body out the door, the woman cleared her voice and laughed. “That’s the only problem I had. We dealt with it, so everything’s fine!”_

 

_She slapped down a bunch of files onto the floor, spilling papers and reports everywhere. The remaining generals just watched as she poked at them with her heeled feet._

 

_“I’ve sorted out the dates for the two. Look through them.” At her command, the generals picked up the folders and swept through them, reading the prints at lightning speed and immediately memorising the contents. It was expected of the top workers of the organisation._

 

_One of the female generals gasped. “You’ve collected every bit of information. Every page is filled with words, from top to bottom!” She absorbed the text into her mind, making sure to forget nothing. This was sweet knowledge - with this, she would be able to complete the following jobs smoothly._

 

_“Thank you. I’ve done my best to look in deeper into these lovely children. Oh, and by the way, I presume that the cooks are preparing the finest meals?” Everyone’s head turned to the furthest red seat, where a plump man with a small beard smiled._

 

_“Of course. Today we served the two the best sushi and sashimi. The freshest fish from the sea. They’re splendid, to say so myself.”_

 

_Another man nodded. “They looked stunning. It made my mouth water.”_

 

_The black-clothed woman laughed from behind her mask. “That sounds good. I’m glad that everyone is doing their best to contribute to the well-being of our organisation.”_

 

_“So, we will be performing on them three weeks later. That sounds fine. Does everyone agree?” The male sitting on one of the seats in front asked, looking back at the others. Everyone nodded._

 

_“I’m glad that everyone has the same opinion as me. Then the date is settled for the procedure. Three weeks later, we will proceed to take out their horns and gems. I hope we have made it clear for everyone?”_

 

_Everyone nodded._

 

_“During the procedure, we will have to be extremely careful. When their gems are taken out, the powers will be released. No one knows what sort of abilities they have, but I’m sure it’s dangerous. Thats what their ancestors used to suppress the society for an extended amount of time, after all. I’ve heard that one Sin Demon can easily take out thousands of people at once. We need the best tools, the best people, the best everything.”_

 

_“Please trust us. We will help you with everything.” The generals looked each other in the eye with pride and confidence._

 

_“Thank you. Now then, the meeting is over. Please take the files and use them for your missions.”_

 

_They all stood up and went to their own squads, soon to tell what assignments would follow._

 

_All eleven generals had left the room. The woman in black sat on her red armchair, frozen stiff. Minutes later, a voice entered her head._

 

**_“Good job. You’ve done well.”_ **

 

_The woman shook her head in a robotic manner. “I deserve no praise. I have only done what I have been told to do.”_

 

**_“I want you to keep going like you are now. There’s no need to change at the moment.”_ **

 

_“Yes, Boss.” Her voice was rigid, with no emotion._

 

**_“Make sure to put enough emotion in your voice and actions. You need to seem more…real.”_ **

 

_“Yes, Boss.”_

 

**_“Well then, I’ll leave it to you.”_ **

 

_And the voice left her head. The woman rose to her feet and left the room, her heels clacking like always._

 

* * *

 

_“General Maeno, Yukimura has returned from his mission!”_

 

_“Yeah yeah, tell him to send in a report later.”_

 

_Yes sir!” The younger soldier bowed deeply, then left the general’s room. Maeno flicked through the extra files he had received from the meeting earlier, making sure to remember every fact and detail he came across._

 

_“Hmm?”_

 

_There was an extra piece of paper. He read through it._

 

_“Sawamura Daichi. Attends Karasuno Highschool. Has a tight friendship with Sugawara Koushi. Was a witness to Sugawara’s invitation…”_

 

_A photo fell onto the ground. Maeno bent down and picked it up. In the frame was a male teen, with black-brown hair and a strong jawline._

 

_…Sawamura Daichi._

 

_He was a witness? Wasn’t that dangerous? Who knew what could get involved because of him. He was a threat._

 

_Maeno slipped the photo into his pocket._


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sawamura and Saeko talk.
> 
> Oikawa and Sugawara are studied.
> 
> A face is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy

“Well, then, take care, Daichi-kun.”

 

“Yes. Thank you, Doctor.”

 

Sawamura bowed before shutting the door. He walked through the hallways, by the reception, and then reached the exit of the hospital. It was good news. About his wings. They were growing. Although he had black stumps on his back at first, they fell off and revealed soft white feathers. They were so bright, just like his mother’s wings. His father had laughed and patted him on the back. “I’m glad for you, Daichi. We all are.”

 

Sawamura wished that he could be happy about himself as well. But of course he couldn’t. His friend wasn’t here with him. How could be happy?

 

He saw the car parked on the side of the road, with ‘Karasuno Cafeteria’ written on it. He hurried over.

 

“Tanaka-san!” 

 

He saw the bob of blonde hair bounce up at the name. A pair of sharp eyes looked up. 

 

“Daich-kuni! Come on, get in!” She smiled, popping a lollipop in her mouth. “Your examinations are getting shorter everyday! I can take that as a good sign, right?”

 

“Yes. My wings are growing steadily.” He smiled back, buckling on his seatbelt next to her.

 

An awkward silence drifted between the two as Saeko started up the car and began to drive. They didn’t really know each other, after all. She was just here to pick him up from the hospital and drop him off at his house, since it was too far away to walk. Tanaka (from the club) had asked her if she could do the job. Sawamura was grateful, as his parents were busy.

 

“…Have you heard anything about Koushi?”

 

Sawamura clenched his fists. 

 

“No. Nothing…yet.” He laughed weakly. “We really need more info on him…” 

 

The tears rising up in his eyes were no surprise. He quickly brushed them away. Had Saeko noticed them? Hopefully not.

 

“…I want you to take care of youself, Daichi-kun.” Saeko’s unexpected response startled Sawamura. “Don’t blame yourself. We’ll find him soon. With Oikawa-kun.”

 

Sawamura’s chest felt tight. A tear fell onto his clenched fist. “…Yes.”

 

They didn’t talk anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

“I think I’m going insane.”

 

Oikawa lifted his head up from his pillow to stare at Sugawara, who was beside him, lying down on his stomach. He cocked his head at the unusual statement.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Sugawara rolled onto his back. “I mean, god knows how long we’ve been stuck here. There’s no way to keep track of the time, get up, eat, do nothing, eat, continuing this cycle…it’s driving me insane.”

 

“I’m actually glad that nothing’s happened to us so far. I’m still afraid of what they talked about before. About ‘not hurting them until the time comes.’ When will that time come? No idea.”

 

They both stared into the ceiling, side by side. 

 

“Thinking about it - Suga-chan, have you given up on not using what supplies they’re giving us?”

 

Sugawara sighed. “I gave up a while ago. Now I’m just using all the clothes and gaming consoles and whatever they give us like it’s mine.”

 

“I’ve been like that ever since I came here. Haha.” Oikawa’s laugh had no soul in it. Just an empty, emotionless sound vocalised from his mouth. Everything else the two had been doing for the last few days had been carried out in an bland, hollow way. Nothing really seemed fun anymore. Just something they did. Not much meaning behind their actions.

 

“I’m hungry. I wonder when our meal will come.” Oikawa groaned.

 

“Me too. I wonder if it’s lunch or dinner. Hell, maybe it’s even breakfast. I have no idea what the time is. Part of what’s driving me insane.”

 

The two continued to stare into the ceiling - why were they staring at the ceiling? Oh right, they had nothing else to do but that. Huh.

 

A sudden loud knock from both doors surprised them. 

 

“Is it our meal?” Sugawara whispered in curiosity. 

 

“I wonder. Probably. Like always.” Oikawa responded.

 

They went to their own corresponding doors, waiting for the metal flap to open and the person outside to serve a tray full of top quality dishes. Except that it didn’t happen this time.

 

Instead of the flap, the whole door just swung open. It was so unexpected that Sugawara took a few steps back, heart pounding.

 

A tall, lean man with dyed blonde hair and pale skin smiled. Sugawara had seen him before. He was the one who had opened the door for him when he first came to this place.

 

“What?” Sugawara could hear Oikawa’s startled yell. So the same thing had happened to him.

 

“Please, come this way.” The blonde man gently held Sugawara’s hand and escorted him out of the room. 

 

“Ex-excuse me, where are we going…?” Sugawara questioned cautiously. The blonde man, without looking back, shook his head. Sugawara took that as a confirmation that he should not ask anymore questions. He followed him quietly.

 

…

 

Was Oikawa partaking in the same thing as him? Both rooms lead to different hallways, so he wouldn’t know. No sound was being emitted from the walls. 

 

…

 

The escort continued walking. On and on. How big was this place? Sugawara was beginning to ask himself whether he was in a dream or not when the blonde man stopped.

 

He stopped in the middle of the hallway. Or was it the middle? Sugawara couldn’t tell. After all, the end couldn’t be seen from here. Further down the back was simply darkness. 

 

The blonde man pressed his hand against the wall. After a few seconds, a secret door revealed itself. Another hallway stretched along.

 

“What the hell…” Sugawara muttered as he continued to follow the man inside. This one was shorter, with a proper end. A door opened itself as they approached. A room, about as big as Sugawara and Oikawa’s. It had a huge round table and chairs around it, already filled with stern looking men and women in black suits. At one particularly distinct chair sat the woman with the black mask, with her legs crossed and hands together. 

 

“It’s been a while, Koushi-chan, Tooru-chan.”

 

Sugawara looked around. At the opposite of him, on the other side of the wall stood Oikawa and his escort. He looked just as confused as he did. The masked woman laughed and swung on her chair. 

 

“Don’t look so perplexed. Come on, sit.” She gestured towards two empty seats opposite from her own. Still not sure about anything, the two sat down side by side. The other uniformed adults didn’t seem to acknowledge their presence. They just looked down or straight ahead.

 

“A lot of time has passed since we brought you here. Have you had a good time?” She chuckled, as if she already knew the answer. “We fed you the best meals, gave you the best technology, the best everything. I assume that you’re healthy and happy?”

 

She didn’t let the two answer. She moved on.

 

“Today we’re going to…examine you two. It’s just to check your physical condition. Nothing else.”

 

She clicked her fingers. Everyone around the table aside from the woman and the two boys stood up. They turned towards the two and bowed. They were all perfectly in sync, like they had practiced it solely for this moment.

 

“Pleased to meet you!” They all boomed, making both Sugawara and Oikawa slightly more scared than they were already. 

 

“These people are all doctors. They’re the ones who’ll be examining you. If they ever make a mistake and hurt you, just tell me.” Sugawara couldn’t see her face behind her mask, but he was sure that she just smiled. “I’ll take care of it.”

 

Why was it that those words sent a chill down his spine? Oikawa eyed the rest of the group. They were expressionless, boring looking adults with no hint of energy in them at all. They just looked fed up with life. 

 

One man in a white lab coat walked over to them. “This way, please.” This guy, just like the others, had no soul in his actions. Just like a…

 

a puppet. 

 

He lead them to a seperate room, with bright white walls and lots of weird equipment that Sugawara had always seen in hospitals. Oikawa went to the left side of the room while Sugawara stayed on the right. It was comforting to have someone else in here with him, Sugawara thought. He was afraid that he would be alone.

 

The next few moments dragged on. It should’ve been only a few minutes, but the whole thing felt like it went on for hours. It was the typical kind of hospital visit - like the ones that Sugawara experienced when he went with his mother for a check up. It was really nothing special at all. And here he was, getting all scared.

 

Eventually, the examination ended. Oikawa and Sugawara exchanged glances. It seemed like they were both okay. But what was the point of this?

 

“Nice, it seems like you’re both healthy!” The masked woman clapped her hands after the doctors filled her in with the information. “I’m truly glad that you two are fine. I guess those meals were really the best.” 

 

“Do we get to go back now?” Oikawa asked. He put put his hands on his hips and pouted. A disguise to hide his fear. 

 

“Of course. You can go back.” As she spoke, Oikawa’s escort reappeared, ready to take him back to him private cell.

 

Just as Sugawara was about to head out the door, following Oikawa, a firm grip on his shoulder stopped him.

 

“What…?” Sugawara looked up at A-kun, who was expressionless as always. His grip didn’t cease. It was strong, and it was beginning to hurt. Why?

 

“Koushi-chan, you’re staying.”

 

Sugawara was not going to take this in. Despite A-kun’s deathly clutch on his shoulder, he decided to make a run for it.

 

“Oikawa!” Sugawara could see his face, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise. Oikawa also reached out for him, but before their hands touched, the door shut right in Sugawara’s face. The one last connection with him and Oikawa was lost. Sugawara banged on the door, screaming. He didn’t want to be here alone with these people. He had to have at least one person with him…

 

“Koushi-chan, oh Koushi-chan…” The woman walked over and caressed Sugawara’s face. “It’s going to alright. Calm down.”

 

Sugawara kicked her in the stomach. She lurched backwards, stumbling against the wall as multiple uniformed people rushed to her aid. She coughed, and wiped her saliva with her black sleeve. “Dear…”

 

“Don’t tell me that!” Sugawara harshly cut off her words. “Don’t tell me that after you _attacked_ and _dragged_ me here, leaving me in one room the whole time to play with my sanity! _I want to go home!”_ His arms were held back by several adults, but his legs thrashed in her direction. His eyes were red with demonic bloodlust. 

 

“Oh dear…” The masked woman carefully stood up again with the help of multiple concerned doctors. She walked towards Sugawara again, and this time, Sugawara’s legs were constrained. “Darling, no need to be so angry.” But her voice gave Sugawara no peace - he was screaming and crying at the same time, overcome by mental stress and the whole of his unstable emotions. 

 

“Koushi-chan, please…we’ve prepared with our best of the best, and now it’s just up to you…we need you darling, okay? Calm down…” Once again, she softly held Sugawara’s face. He bit her gloved hand.

 

“Oh!” She quickly drew her arm back and peeled off her glove. Underneath was a hand, with slightly stubby fingers and emerging wrinkles. On her thumb was Sugawara’s bite mark. It was slowly turning red.

 

“Old hag.” Sugawara spat out, his red eyes glaring into hers. She didn’t move for a moment. She just stood there, watching Sugawara growl like beast with people restraining his movements. It didn’t take too many people to stop him - he wasn’t that strong. 

 

A general came next to the woman and cautiously studied her stance. She was still, aside from her hands, massaging the fresh injury.

 

“Lady, should we take him back to his room for now? We can’t do it with him like this…”

 

“No.”

 

“Eh?” The general watched as the black-clothed woman stared at Sugawara from behind her mask. 

 

“Koushi-chan, you’re too angry. Maybe…”

 

She stopped talking for a while. In this small moment of silence, it looked like she was not herself. She went completely stiff, nodding at nothing and making hushed whispers. “Yes sir,” she muttered.

 

“Excuse me?” The general was starting to get really worried when she seemed to get back to her senses. “I know what might calm you down, Koushi-chan! I know exactly the thing…”

 

She turned around to face the other officers. “Detain him to a chair. After that, everyone leave. I’m going to be with Koushi-chan alone for awhile.”

 

After they tied and cuffed Sugawara to one of the wooden chairs in the room, everyone left the room one by one. All of them were wondering what was going to happen, of course, but no one questioned it. It wouldn't be proper to.

 

In the room remained just the two. Sugawara still had the fire of absolute hate in his eyes. He looked furious. 

 

“I know what might calm you down…” The woman breathed into Sugawara’s ear, provoking him. He hissed. “Go on then. Try to make me calm down. Except that I’m gonna be like this until you let me and Oikawa go!”

 

She merely giggled lightly at his hate-filled declaration.

 

She pushed her face closer to Sugawara’s. Behind the mask, nothing could be seen. Sugawara snarled - he had bitten her too weakly before. He’d like to bite her nose off if he could. Once she gets close enough…

 

The woman lifted her hands to the back of her head and began to untie domething. The mask began to come loose. 

 

Sugawara gasped. Was she - her mask!

 

She undid the rest of what was left. The mask was so loose now that if she let go, it would drop the the floor and her face would ultimately be revealed.

 

Sugawara was sick of waiting. All he had done for the past few fucking whatever was to wait, wait, wait all the time! 

 

He reached out his neck and grabbed the mask with his teeth. He dragged it out of the woman’s grasp, pulling it into his vision.

 

After the black cloth disappeared from his sight, a face filled his view.

 

“Familiar?” The woman smirked. 

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

No. No. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no…

 

No.

 

Sugawara knew the face. He definitely knew who it was. 

 

…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He knew who it was.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh dear


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi comforts.
> 
> Takeshi hurries.
> 
> Sugawara screams.

Akaashi wasn’t a genius, but it was a fact that he was smart. Actually, everyone in his family was smart. Using their high intelligence and wise knowledge, Akaashi’s father, grandfather, and his great-grandfather had picked up the job of either a detective or a policeman. Of course, his relatives on his mother’s side were all fairly well educated, with some of them being famous private detectives. 

 

His family had told him that there was no need to involve himself with the police when he grew up - his future was his to choose, they had said. All the officers in his family had chosen to become part of that group by their own will. Although Akaashi still didn’t really have anything in mind, being a detective didn’t sound too bad. 

 

Akaashi sighed and got out of the bath. He changed into his pyjamas, ready for bed. He wasn’t that sleepy though, so he made himself comfortable in front of the television, sitting on the sofa and peeling a tangerine open. The first channel that buzzed up when he turned the TV on was the news.

 

_“…to assure their families that they are safe. Once again, it is Sugawara Koushi and Oikawa Tooru from the Miyagi Prefecture, the two boys that are currently missing. Well then…”_

 

Akaashi watched as the next news presenter began talking about a new koala arriving in Ueno Zoo. He flicked through all the other channels, but there was nothing fun to watch. With a sigh, he turned off the television and headed to his room. 

 

“…Dad?” 

 

His father was sitting in front of the house entrance, his head sinking in his hands. He was still in his suit - the usual attire for his detective work.

 

“Oh, Keiji. I didn’t notice you there.” He lifted his head in Akaashi’s direction and smiled weakly.

 

“Is something wrong?” Akaashi asked, but he already knew what was on his mind.

 

“Oh, it’s just that those boys… you know, all the way in Miyagi. There’s nothing that we can do to try find them.” He laughed feebly. “I feel like I’m going crazy. Just where… where could they be?”

 

Akaashi stood behind him silently. He wanted to help him in any way he could, but what could a mere high schooler do? Still silent, he crouched down and began to massage his shoulders. They were stiff.

 

“Please calm down. Something will come up. I’m sure of it. Hang in there.” Akaashi calmly said in a hushed tone. Words of encouragement was the least that he could do. Surely his father would collect himself and continue working hard like he always did. After all, Takeshi Akaashi was a strong man.

 

“Thank you, Keiji. I promise you, I will find these boys.” He looked up and smiled. Maybe Akaashi’s cheering up had done the trick. His smile seemed brighter somehow. Feeling like he had done his job, he continued to walk towards his room.

 

“…Does your name still bother you?” 

 

Akaashi stopped in his tracks. What was that, out of nowhere?

 

“It doesn’t. I like my name, so don’t worry.” Although it was an annoyance to him in the past, with ignorant classmates calling him ‘Keiji Keiji’ and making fun of his family, it was all okay now. Maybe it would begin again if he told his friends about the detectives in his household, but of course, he wouldn’t take it as seriously as he did back when he was younger.

 

“I just thought that it would be the best name for you… I had never thought of it like that. Sorry.” 

 

Akaashi shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize. I love my name.”

 

Takeshi grunted and stood up. “Okay, enough talk. I need to organise some files from today. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be staying in Miyagi for another week or two again. Two days later.”

 

“Okay. Well then, goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight, Keiji.”

 

Akaashi went into his room and shut the door. He burrowed into the covers, making himself nice and warm. It was a bit chilly outside.

 

He lay there, thinking about the events happening around him. Everyone in the volleyball club was going mad after Sugawara and Oikawa’s kidnapping. Including him. It sounded surreal somehow. Why would it be those two, out of all people? Were they kidnapped by the same person, or was it two completely irrelevant cases? Would the valuable witness, Daichi Sawamura, be safe afterwards? Who knew what could happen to him. 

 

Akaashi turned around, twisting the blankets. This was too confusing. It was up to the police to solve the mystery. It was up to his father.

 

If only he could do something to help.

 

* * *

 

Two days later, early in the morning when the sky was still dark, Takeshi Akaashi left for work. He shut the door behind him quietly, so that his wife and his son, Keiji, wouldn’t be stirred awake. He arrived at the airport, ready to board the plane to Miyagi Prefecture. 

 

_“Thank you for using Japan Airlines. We would like you to…”_

 

It wasn’t a long flight - just a bit longer than an hour - but it was the precious time of rest that he had. He needed to make this free time useful. He had barely gotten any sleep because of all those messed up files he had to organise last night.

 

It was true that time went fast when you’re having fun, but it went faster when you were sleeping. In what just seemed like mere minutes, the flight was over and he had to get off. 

 

“Oh right, my phone…”

 

When he turned his phone on as he arrived in baggage area, the number of missed calls he had surprised him. 

 

“Huh?”

 

They were all from Detective Morohoshi. Did she really need his help that badly? She could do at least _something_ by herself, couldn’t she? Takeshi was about to call her back when his phone buzzed in his ear. Once again, it was Detective Morohoshi.

 

“Excuse me, Morohoshi-san, what is it this tim—”

 

“Detective Akaashi! Are you in Miyagi now? Oh god you don’t know how long I’ve been—”

 

“Morohoshi-san, calm down. What happened?” Surely it wasn’t anything big. Detective Morohoshi stressed over the smallest things after all.

 

“We’ve got a lead to the missing boys! The police have captured the kidnapper’s partner!”

 

Takeshi almost dropped his phone. After all that searching, something had finally come up! Success!

 

“Wait for me. I’ll be in the office immediately.” He hung up before he could hear Morohoshi’s response, hastily shoving his phone in his pocket and pulling the handle of his travel bag. Although his previous plan was to check in at the nearby hotel, with these news, he had to go straight to Morohoshi-san and the criminal. 

 

He was feeling great. Sleep deprived with dark circles under his eyes, but feeling great. Finally, he could track those two volleyball boys. For their families and friends, for his own son and _his_ friends, he had to find them as quickly as possible.

 

As quickly as possible.

 

* * *

 

The first thing Takeshi saw when he entered the room was a man, most likely the criminal, strapped to a chair and being beaten up by one of the police officers.

 

“Wait, wait!” He jumped in between the two people, forcing them both to stop their actions. Although it was one-sided. “What are you doing? He may be a suspect, but that doesn’t mean you can beat him up!”

 

The police officer growled. “He took Morohoshi-san’s age! And he’s refusing to give it back!”

 

Takeshi looked around. Thinking about it, where was Morohoshi?

 

“O-over here…”

 

He lowered his gaze to notice the little girl behind a chair - with overly loose fitting clothes and a frightened look in her eyes. She looked just like Morohoshi, and she probably was, judging from the conversation he had heard just before.

 

“Hey, give her age back. Or else we’ll force you to. You don’t want us to do that.” Taekshi narrowed his eyes. With his sharp gaze and serious face, the threat seemed to work better. The man strapped to the chair flinched and then sighed. 

 

“Alright, whatever you say, glorious policeman. Hey you, come here.” Morohoshi complied, hopping in front of him. The criminal then touched her forehead with his hand, struggling with the handcuffs that bound him. Morohoshi returned to her normal age (which she refused to talk about), with her clothes fitting her perfectly like before. 

 

“First things first.” Takeshi cleared his throat. “Name?”

 

The man grunted. “Maeno Nobuyuki.”

 

“Are the boys safe?”

 

Maeno squinted. “What, the silver one and the taller one? I can’t tell you that…”

 

The policeman next to him clutched his hand and concentrated. Maeno squealed and tried to tug his arm back. “That hurts!”

 

“If you don’t answer, you’ll be electrocuted again.”

 

“Fine, whatever.” Maeno pulled a face. “They’re fine. For now. But who knows when the lady will go crazy on them.”

 

“The lady? Who’s that?”

 

Maeno groaned flatly, resulting in another shock from the policeman. 

 

“Alright, alright! Jeez, you sure are quick to violence…”

 

Takeshi got his notepad and pen ready. He was gonna suck information out of this man like water from a sponge. He was gonna question him dry.

 

To fulfil his duty as a detective. To get to the bottom of this case.

 

To return the boys to safety.

 

* * *

 

“You can come in now.” 

 

The black clothed woman spoke into her phone.

 

The generals and doctors cautiously opened the door and entered, one by one. No one dared to say a word. They just anxiously looked the two up and down. The woman was standing next to the boy, in her usual attire of her huge coat and the infinite layer of clothes underneath, making her look like a round black ball. By her side, still strapped to a chair, was Sugawara. With an expression like he had given up on life, he sat there, arms tied to his sides and his hair overgrown to cover his dull eyes.

 

“You can work on Koushi-chan now. Try not to kill him please. You know what will happen to all of you if he dies.”

 

The crowd nodded in unison, proceeding to lift the boy in the chair and carrying him to the white room where they had checked up on him. The silver haired boy didn’t produce much of a reaction - he just stared into space as they moved him. Whatever the lady had used to shut him up must’ve been quite a shock. 

 

They lay him down on an operating table that seemed to appear out of nowhere, situated in the middle of the room. Around it were various tools and gadgets. 

 

The doctors got rid of the ropes and fastened his arms and legs as quickly as possible, afraid that the boy would suddenly lash out and attack them. That didn’t happen though. He seemed lifeless, dead inside. 

 

“Sorry, Sugawara-kun. We can’t use anaesthetics during your experiments. It’ll hurt a lot. I have a son near your age, so this is so painful for me to do, but…” The doctor put his mask on. “It’s my job. Sorry, Sugawara-kun.”

 

All the adults were busy preparing for the upcoming ‘research’ that no one noticed the tears being shed from the teenager’s eyes.

 

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t like pain.” He sniffed. 

 

Endless memories flashed through his mind. Happy ones, sad ones, the most memorable ones and the ones that he thought that he had forgotten. The most recent ones too.

 

Like the face of the masked woman. It was engrained in his head, the way her eyes stared into his own and the way her mouth formed a smug smile. 

 

Why was that person here? How could she possibly be here? It was a familiar face, a face he enjoyed seeing. A face that was always there for the blissful memories. 

 

The face he saw often, greeting him with the warmest smile. With her black hair tied up into a messy ponytail and her apron stained with the experiences of failed cooking.

 

Whenever he went over to her house, she would always laugh and talk about how much he had grown although they had seen each other just a week ago. The way she moved cheerily in the kitchen, the smell of her homemade curry wafting in the air, the way her white wings shifted with every movement.

 

Why was Sawamura Daichi’s mother here?

 

It was so weird - weird in so many ways. How could her existence in this place be explained? There was no way that she was actually evil…

 

…right?

 

Her gaze was so much colder, with no means of previous warmth to be seen. Her facial features were the same and her white wings under her heavy coat were just as he remembered. But there was something different about her, something that prevented Sugawara from noticing her when he was first brought here. A thing he had never recognised when he was closer to her in the past.

 

“Are you ready, all of you?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

A monitor flickered on in the room. On the screen, as Sugawara could manage to see from the corner of his eyes, was the masked woman. 

 

_‘Daichi’s mother.’_

 

“I’m sorry Koushi-chan. I really didn’t want to do this to you…” Unexpectedly, her voice broke down. Was she not a cold, heartless monster? 

 

“I love you, Koushi-chan. And I’m sorry. I really love you…”

 

_‘Liar’_

 

“I had not choice. I’m sorry…” And the screen buzzed to the previous black screen. The surgical light flashed in front of Sugawara’s face, blinding him. He wanted to shield his eyes with his hands, but the metal shackles restrained them. He couldn’t move. He was powerless.

 

“Here we go.” The doctor, with a mask and some weird green uniform on, muttered. The others nodded along.

 

“NO! NO! NO! DON’T!” Sugawara screamed. The doctors flinched at his voice.

 

“Ah… a gag. Get one. And also, stop his head from moving. It’s annoying.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

After Sugawara was gagged and tied down, the doctors lifted up their tools in their gloved hands. 

 

_‘No, no, no, no, no. I don’t want to be hurt! I don’t like pain!’_

 

Ignoring the tears spilling down Sugawara’s cheeks and onto the surgery table, the doctors leaned in.

 

“We have everything. This isn’t even the real big operation, boy. These are just the little experiments before that. Even if you want to die, we won’t let you. We need you alive.” 

 

Sugawara let out a shrill sound from the back of his throat. _‘No, no, no. Please, stop!’_

 

“Well then, let’s begin.”

 

* * *

 

Oikawa flinched. He felt like he had just heard a sound. 

 

He sighed. More delusions, probably. 

 

He fidgeted his fingers in worry. The workers wouldn’t tell him what had happened to Sugawara. After they dragged him back to his room, they tried to hush his yells of anger and frustration. They said that he needed to sleep. Sleep a lot, they had said. Calm down, they had said.

 

As if he could calm down! He had seen his one special friend in this horrible place _scream_ in _fear_ before his eyes! The look on Sugawara's face before the door shut between them was calling for help.

 

He sighed again, and looked up at the ceiling. Usually, there was Sugawara next to him, both of them stupidly staring up at nowhere. He was lonely already.

 

He sunk his head in his hands.

 

_‘I hope that Sugawara is safe.’_ He thought.

 

_. . ._

 

_‘No.’_

 

_‘He is safe.’_

 

 

 

  

 

_‘I’m sure of it.’_

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interrogations.
> 
> Desperation.
> 
> Thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Hello. I'm back.
> 
> AHH I'M SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE I guess I just kinda lost the fun of writing for a while, and school happened. But there's not really an excuse for my lateness, so I'm sorry. (⌣_⌣”)
> 
> Okay, aside from my sappy apology, here's the new chapter! Hope you enjoy~

Maeno had dark circles. The questioning session had gone nonstop, from the morning to deep in the night. Takeshi asked him as many questions as he could, even the ones that didn’t seem quite relevant to the case. He was just that dedicated - he wanted both Oikawa and Sugawara to return safely to their homes, greeted warmly by their family and friends. For the sake of peace, Takeshi was filtering the suspect of answers. 

 

“I’m so tired. I’m. So. Tired.” Maeno groaned, but Detective Morohoshi and Takeshi ignored him. It was the millionth time that he was complaining. For a criminal, he was talking a lot. They just had to get used to shrugging off his dissatisfied whines. 

 

“We’ve got everything we need, Akaashi-san. I don’t see the point in asking him more irrelevant questions.” Morohoshi looked at Takeshi with a puzzled gaze. 

 

“I want to get everything. Every bit counts, Morohoshi-san.” He jotted down more notes on his notepad, brows narrowed in concentration. Morohoshi sighed. There was no stopping him, was there? If she remembered correctly, he had a son in high school. She could recall the memory when he ranted nonstop about him in front of the witness to Sugawara’s abduction. Perhaps it was because he could relate to the kids’ parents that he was working so hard. Well, he always did put his one hundred percent effort in in any sort of case…

 

“But Akaashi-san, you’ve stayed up all night, you really—” 

 

“Shh.” 

 

Takeshi clamped Morohoshi’s mouth shut. “I just heard something. No one’s supposed to be here but us.”

 

A light ‘tch’ sounded from behind the door. 

 

“Who’s there.” Takeshi asked quietly.

 

No answer came.

 

“I asked WHO’S THERE?” He yelled this time, the hint of an impatient growl mixed in his voice. 

 

Then it happened in just a few seconds.

 

A black-clad figure busted the door open and jumped through the small room, digging their shoes into Maeno’s lap. They then pulled their mask down and spit into Maeno’s open mouth. After that, like a lightning bolt, they took a sharp turn and left from where they entered, through the door which was just barely hangingon by it’s hinges. 

 

“O-Oi!” The police officers guarding the room had reacted too late - the shadowed assassin was already too far away from their reach. The police ran anyway, shouting hurried commands into their small machines. 

 

“YOU USELESS MORONS! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON GUARD!” Takeshi roared furiously, eyes filled with rage.

 

“Akaashi-san, look…!” 

 

Takeshi snapped around at a weird gurgling sound. It was Maeno. He was foaming by the mouth, eyes showing white and his whole body shaking uncontrollably. 

 

“Damn it, he was probably an assassin from the organisation! Call an ambulance!” Takeshi gripped Maeno’s shoulders. “Oi, you can’t die here!”

 

Maeno shook his head violently, shuddered a few more times, then all actions came to a halt. His head lolled to the side and back, mouth open and eyes still wide but void of life. 

 

“He’s… dead…” Morohoshi couldn’t believe it - it was only a few seconds, but so much had happened. “Why…”

 

“They don’t want information leaking out. Too bad for them though, we already have ours down.” Takeshi closed Maeno’s eyes using his fingers. “Sorry, man.”

 

Morohoshi silently watched as a horde of police officers came marching into the office, setting down special investigation tools and papers. She was just about to lend some help when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. It was Detective Takeshi.

 

“We’re going to be questioned, as witnesses. I’m going to hand over my information to the higher-ups, so that they can track the missing boys down.” He dropped his head. “It’s a shame that Maeno had to die like that… come on, let’s go.” He followed the blue-uniformed police officer, Morohoshi quickly tagging behind.

 

“Fuck this… I should be working by now.” Takeshi gritted his teeth. 

 

He was wasting his time.

 

* * *

 

“Suga… come on, eat at least a little! Please…” Oikawa poked the spoon at Sugawara’s closed mouth, at least trying to get some of the rice in. Sugawara didn’t react - he stared into the wall dully, eyes half open. 

 

Oikawa looked at Sugawara’s flat expression in distress. He hadn’t been eating for the past 2 days that he had come back from the weird wide room. In fact, he hadn’t really reacted to anything; books, games, new clothes and loud noises didn’t even get the slightest response from him. Oikawa could only wonder about what had happened in the room - although he could vaguely guess what happened. 

 

Sugawara had grown sharp ears and an unusual tail…

 

Sugawara’s ears, usually plain and roundish like every other human’s had turned significantly sharper. Like an elf’s, except that he was a demon. And the tail was another bizarre addition. It was a dark blue, with scales running down with a point at the end. Now he actually _looked_ like a demon.

 

Oikawa guessed that they had performed experiments of him. Just thinking about it made him angry - very angry. To what extent had that mad black-clothed woman gone to to make Sugawara like… like that? This soulless, muted Sugawara was not the Sugawara he knew from before. They both had been isolated of people aside from themselves, and they couldn’t even tell what time it was because of the loss of windows in the room, and it drove them crazy. But even at the brink of falling into despair, Sugawara always had a smile to spare. No matter what, he had a smile as bright as the sun. But now all of that was gone. Nothing left of him…

 

It felt like everything was gone. And Oikawa couldn’t stand it one bit. He did everything he could to get Sugawara back to his senses. He played pranks and told the funniest jokes, but that didn’t work. He flicked food on his face and ‘accidentally’ kicked his shin, but that didn’t work either. Oikawa was desperate to get Sugawara back. He screamed into his ears, shook his body violently and grabbed at his silver hair and pulled it to produce some sort of reaction. 

 

But nothing worked. 

 

“Sugawara, please…” Oikawa pleaded, “Don’t leave me alone!” 

 

No reaction. 

 

Oikawa looked at Sugawara’s face with an expression of pure anguish before turning away and heading to his own room to proceed into his bed. He slumped down against the soft mattress, rubbing his face on the blankets to wipe away his tears. 

 

“Now I’m really all alone…” He sobbed, clutching at the duvet. 

 

Maybe it was all the stress that had piled up in him - a few seconds later, without even himself realising, Oikawa fell off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“…n-hic, hic… NO..NO!” 

 

Oikawa opened his eyes. Light blinded him. Why had hadn’t he turned the lights off before he went to sleep?

 

He blinked.

 

Right, he fell asleep after sometime crying. Talking about crying, he swore he just heard someone weeping just now…

 

Sugawara.

 

Oikawa threw the covers off, leaving them to drop onto the cold floor. He hurried over to Sugawara’s bed, where the silver haired boy was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching his head and muttering words over and over. 

 

“Suga! Sugawara! It’s okay, I’m here!” Oikawa hugged Sugawara tight, hoping that some of his warmth would calm him down. Sugawara continued to whimper, but he seemed less agitated. 

 

“Oikawa… Oikawa!” Sugawara repeated his name over again. Oikawa hugged him tighter every time he heard his name being called. That moment, it was the only thing he could do to support Sugawara. 

 

“Oikawa… it was horrible!” Sugawara lifted his head up from Oikawa’s chest. “They hurt me. Even though I said that I didn’t like being hurt… they stabbed me and dug into me with weird tools. Injecting some bad chemicals and making me scream… they didn’t put me to sleep, they just went on… I’m scared… I’m scared… Oikawa I’m so scared…” His voice got stuck in his throat, producing a rather raspy cough. 

 

Oikawa wanted to cry with Sugawara as well. He couldn’t believe it - how could they do such horrible things to Sugawara, who was one of the purest and kindest people he had ever met? His only friend and special family in this hell-like prison was so hurt and traumatised, he would’ve liked to bawl his eyes with Sugawara as well. 

 

But he didn’t let a single tear fall.

 

He didn’t want Sugawara to see him crying. He wanted to stay strong in front of him, as his loyal trustworthy friend. To cry in front of him would be showing that he was weak. So he sucked in his breath and prayed that his emotions wouldn’t overtake him. He simply patted Sugawara’s back, combed through his greyish hair with his fingers, the methods that his mother would use to calm him down back at home. 

 

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be with you. I really am, Sugawara,” he whispered softly into Sugawara’s ears, ensuring safety and comfort for him. Sugawara buried his face deeper into Oikawa’s tear-stained clothes, seeking more of the sense of security. 

 

They stayed like that for a while.

 

* * *

 

“Sensei…”

 

Takeda turned around to see the members of the volleyball club looking at him. He gulped.

 

“Is Suga-san okay?” Hinata asked. They stared intensely at him, as if he knew all the answers. 

 

“Don’t worry, the police force are searching for him. Everything will be okay.” He smiled, although it was a bit forced.

 

“No, it won’t be okay.” 

 

Everyone turned their heads to Asahi’s direction. He was standing there, head down and fists clenched. The area around him was covered in a thick grey fog. “It’s not okay. How do we know that Suga’s alright?” He looked forlornly into Takeda’s eyes with that overbearing gaze; Takeda didn’t like it. He wasn’t some sort of god, he didn’t know all the answers to everything. 

 

“Believe in him, Asahi-kun.” He forced another smile. “He will be alright. They will find him soon.” 

 

Asahi shook his head in despair. “It’s so different, it’s too different without Suga here. Who knows what’s happening to him right now - he might be being tortured for all we know - he might be suffering, all alone—” The fog was so thick that it was hard to see Asahi. His distress, all of his worries surrounded him.

 

“Asahi-san!”

 

Like a stray ray of light, Nishinoya hugged Asahi from the back, his arms wrapped around his body firmly. “We should believe in Suga-san. He’s not the type of person to be easily tricked, you know?” Nishonoya grinned. “You should know that! You’re one of his best friends!” 

 

Asahi kept his head down, but the murkiness encircling him slowly vanished away. “I guess you’re right,” he muttered. Nishinoya smiled. “That’s better.”

 

Sawamura watched this from afar. Asahi was right - Sugawara could be hurt and injured at this moment while they were living in safety. It shot a pang of guilt into him - he knew it wasn’t his fault - but the ugly feeling, the toxic sensation wouldn’t go away. 

 

“Daichi-san?” 

 

Tanaka rested a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

 

**No, he wasn’t okay. He was in pain. He was feeling like a piece of shit. How selfish he was, to feel these emotions. Sugawara could be in extreme agony somewhere, he wasn’t allowed to feel any better. He wanted Suga back, together in class, eating lunch together, playing volleyball together, doing everything together, doing homework, class duties, cleaning, managing the—”**

 

“I’m fine.” He smothered on a smile. 

 

“If you’re,” Tanaka hesitated, “if you’re hurting inside by yourself, you should… talk to us about it. I’m sure things will be resolved soon. Please don’t… blame yourself for what happened.”

 

**Blame? How could he not blame himself? He was the only person there who could’ve stopped everything from happening, if only he hadn’t been such a weak asshole, he could’ve saved him. If only he wasn’t such of a deformed, hideous beast, he could’ve saved him. If only he had grown his wings before everything happened, if only—”**

 

“It’s not like that,” Sawamura said. “Come one, don’t look so down. I’m fine, really!”

 

**_I’m not fine._ **

 

Tanaka scratched the back of his head. “Oh… is that so. But still, please tell us when you feel troubled! We all want to help you!”

 

Sawamura nodded, still smiling. “Of course.”

 

**_Not really._ **

 

* * *

 

Iwaizumi stared up at the sky. It was a pale orange colour, and aside from the clouds drifting lazily across the canvas, it was mostly clear. 

 

He sat down and took a swig of water from his bottle, then looked up at the sky again. 

 

Thoughts crowded his brain. Mostly negative, all of them. 

 

_‘I wonder how Oikawa is doing,’_ he thought.

 

Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was still alive. He wished for the latter. 

 

It seemed so _unreal_. He had repeated that thought so many times, over and over again, but every time he thought of it, the memory of when he last saw Oikawa flooded his mind, crystal-clear, as if he had just seen him moments ago. 

 

When in reality it had been weeks.

 

Why was it Oikawa, he wondered. Had he done something so brutal, so wrong that he had to get kidnapped and taken away from his loved ones? Out of all the kids in Japan, it had to be two from Miyagi. Sugawara and Oikawa. What had they done to deserve their fate?

 

Why them? What caused the culprits to do what they did? Iwaizumi had come up with some of his own impossible theories, and of course, none of them really made sense. He had no idea what they had in common, aside that they were both high school boys in volleyball clubs. Did those variables really matter? But if he thought about it more, there were some people with those kind of preferences. For…

 

He shook his head. He didn’t want to picture it - surely it couldn’t be that. He recited that, ‘no way no way no way’ in his head multiple times, wanting to get rid of those immoral presumptions. 

 

“Iwaizumi-san…” 

 

Kindaichi’s turnip head poked out from behind the door. “The coach wants to talk to you.”

 

“Okay, thanks.” Iwaizumi stood up, heading for the door. Before he went inside, he watched the orange sky one last time. 

 

“Oikawa…”

 

_“Are you safe?”_


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unexpected.
> 
> There's a chase.

Takeshi stomped into the office, where a bunch of suited men and women were crowded around one table, pointing and arguing about the case. 

 

“Have you located the place?” Takeshi stormed in between two men, slamming his hands onto the work surface. On the desk was a large map of the Miyagi Prefecture. 

 

“Y-Yes, Akaashi-san! Their headquarters are at Matsumoto Factory, which was abandoned four years ago! It would take roughly five hours to get there!” The newbie, Nakano, stuttered out loud.

 

“Good! Good job! Have the higher-ups had any say about when we’re going?”

 

“Probably this afternoon. They still need more evidence,” Detective Akamine spoke up, flicking her long hair behind her shoulder. She grabbed Takeshi’s wrist as he gritted his teeth and began to head out the door. “Stop. Yelling at them won’t solve anything.”

 

“We need to save them now!” He banged his fists on the table. “We can’t push this away any further!”

 

“Calm down for a moment. Nothing’s going to get better when you’re angry,” Akamine stated coldly. Takeshi couldn’t lash back at her - she was right. Nothing was going to happen if he got angry by himself, but even so, he just wanted to solve the case immediately! As a detective, it made him happy to see reunited families and friends after chaos. He could relate with people with the positionof being a father. But the seeing the faces of the families who could never see their loved ones again had a stronger emotional impact of him. 

 

“… Right.” He furrowed his brows. “Then we should discuss something else. Something that’ll help us get those kids back home.” Seeing Takeshi regain his composure, Akamine smiled softly. It was the passion in him that made him a great detective. 

 

“Well then…”

 

—————

 

“What were you thinking? Surely you’re joking!” The black-clad woman exclaimed, frustration seeping out of her voice. She shook her head, sighing deeply. “Now that they know of our location, we’re in a huge pinch! Why didn’t you get rid of Maeno quicker?” At her rage, the agent clothed top to bottom in a dull grey flinched.

 

“Well, I had to prepare stuff… t-there were a lot of guards…” He stuttered his words, long fingers fumbling with his mask. 

 

“Seiji-kun, you have one of the most useful assassination powers in our organisation. To be able to kill someone with your saliva is a unique yet impressive ability! I would’ve expected you to use it quickly and efficiently!” She exhaled again, filled with more obvious disappointment this time. Seiji stood in front of her awkwardly, silently getting ready to be punished. 

 

“What to do…” The woman paced back and forth, absorbed in her thoughts. After what seemed like hours, she stopped walking and faced the poor fumbling boy. 

 

“There’s no choice but to pull the experiment date to a closer time. Like… now.” She raised an eyebrow as Seiji gasped. “What’s there to be surprised? Our doctors are skilled, so I’m sure they’ll be fine by the brisk notice. We have to get the gems out for the black market. Now that the police know, we have limited time.”

 

She walked out the room, muttering to herself under her breath. Seiji watched her curiously as she did so. That was a weird habit that he had noticed of her. Sometimes the boss’s face would go completely blank, as if she was being possessed by some sort of ghost. She would mumble words to herself before returning to normal. Everyone had noticed, but no one talked about it. It wasn’t worth the risk.

 

Seiji almost screamed out aloud when the woman’s disguised face popped out from behind the door. “Don’t you dare think that I’m done with you! You will be punished later.” Then she disappeared once again, leaving the poor boy to fall to his knees and clutch his chest at the sudden surprise. 

 

—————

 

Oikawa tensed as he heard the door click. He held Sugawara tighter to him, rustling the soft blanket that covered their heads. He moved to a kneeling position, adjusting so that he could back away with Sugawara if he really had to. 

 

Just like last time, the whole door swung open. There was a man he had never seen before - like many of the others he had caught a glimpse of, he had no distinct features in particular, just a blank canvas without an expression. The man bowed and then stretched out a hand. 

 

“Please come out of the room, Oikawa-sama, Sugawara-sama. The Boss has decided that we should bring you together so that Sugawara-sama feels safe.”

 

Oikawa felt his grip on Sugawara’s shoulder become tighter. So this bitch knew that Sugawara would be traumatised. To feel safe? Hah! What bullshit. Every moment in the place made him feel immensely uncomfortable. 

 

“If you do not comply with her orders, there will be no other choice but to force you, Oikawa-sama, Sugawara-sama.” His voice didn’t hold any hostile emotion - absolutely no spirit in any of his movements, really. Perhaps that was what made him scarier. 

 

Oikawa knew that there was no choice but to abide by his words. Slowly, he pushed the duvet off his head, the fabric falling off the bed to the carpet floor.

 

“Suga, can you stand?” It was a very small reaction, but a reaction nevertheless - Sugawara nodded, the movement barely recognisable. Oikawa helped him get up, supporting him with his arms. The man outside the room didn’t move an inch, he just watched the two boys stand up and stagger towards the door. 

 

“Are you ready?” He looked at both teenagers with cold, uninterested eyes. Oikawa managed a nervous smile. “Whatever you say, mister.” 

 

The three stepped through the familiar corridors. The unwelcome sight sent shivers up Oikawa’s spine - the same bitter grey walls, stretching to the very back where it ended with continuous darkness. 

 

Like the time before, the guide just kept walking nonstop. No small halts or traces of acceleration; he walked at a perfect constant speed, his strides unbroken and eternal. 

 

Oikawa gulped as the guide finally came to a stop. He clenched Sugawara’s shoulder tighter. A door he had never noticed swung open. 

 

“Please, go in,” the man said in his toneless voice. He stood by the side, watching the two as they trudged in. It was exactly the same room as last time - wait, was it? Oikawa noticed that the big round table from last time was not present. Were all rooms designed to look the same? Was he actually in a different room from last time?

 

“Hello again, Koushi-chan.” A familiar displeasing voice sounded from up above. Oikawa glared at the screen attached to the wall, exactly the same as the one he had in his luxurious prison cell. The boss’s face was shown, and of course, it was covered up so that he couldn’t see her features. 

 

“What is it this time. Explain.” Oikawa tried his best to keep the fear out of his voice, but failed. His tone shuddered, and his pitch was significantly higher. He wanted to punch himself.

 

“Your… _surgeries_ are scheduled for today. Right now.” Unlike last time, there was no trace of wittiness or amusement in her voice. She was dead serious. 

 

“What surgery… I didn’t hear about this.” Oikawa questioned agitatedly, still holding Sugawara close to him.

 

“You never needed to know,” was all she said before a number of cloaked agents came rushing in from the sides of the room. A man tore Sugawara off Oikawa, holding him tight under his arms. 

 

“Get OFF HIM, you FUCKER!” Oikawa bellowed, rage and panic overtaking him. Sugawara was being dragged away, people covering his mouth as he tried to scream. His eyes were wide, his head was shaking and his legs were thrashing in a useless plea for help. Oikawa couldn’t stand the sight. He fought back, using his toned legs to kick at the men who grasped onto him. It didn’t work though. His efforts were futile. 

 

The crowd of dull-grey clothing dragged Oikawa to a door, while the other dragged Sugawara out the opposite one. 

 

Oikawa could see Sugawara shrieking in terror. His frightened hazel eyes met his own. They too, were yelling out for help. 

 

_It’s just like last time. Just like last time, when he was screaming for me with his eyes, and when I failed to help him. And just like that time, I won’t be able to save him…_

 

And that was Oikawa’s last thought before his gaze was cut off by the bright whiteness of the door. He was in a completely different room now - weird tools and tables were everywhere, not making Oikawa feel any better about the situation. 

 

He was scared. 

 

They pushed Oikawa onto a hard surgical bed, and before he could even protest, they strapped him in with stiff rope and gagged him. Things happened way to quickly. Seconds later, someone had pulled off his pants. Oikawa screeched in horror. 

 

“Here it is…!” A doctor gasped.

 

What was it that the creepy doctor was grinning about? Oikawa tilted his head so that he could see.

 

Oh.

 

_Oh_.

 

It was his gem.

 

Oikawa processed some thoughts in his head. And they all brought out the same answer. 

 

The gem.

 

Oikawa had always thought that he was the only one who could see the gem. Then he met Sugawara, and realised that he could probably see the gems of other Sin Demons. But he had never ever even tried to fathom that other people could even see them. I mean, that sounded ridiculous to him. Why?

 

He shifted his gaze to another doctor. She, unlike the other creepy one, was looking in the wrong direction. She was looking at Oikawa’s outer left thigh. 

 

_Not all of them. Just some._

 

The doctor at the very front had noticed Oikawa’s uneasiness. He seemed to find it funny. 

 

“You know, we’re not gonna make you fall asleep for this procedure. You’ll have to endure all the pain!” He giggled.

 

Oikawa had already begun to accept that he was going to die - the situation was dire, there was no one to save him. 

 

He noticed that there were some people not in surgeon outfits, but instead in thick armour with weapons. 

 

“They’re to stop your power from overflowing. As soon as we take your gem out, they’ll form a barrier to stop us from collapsing under your power,” the weird doctor said, beginning to caress the surgical instruments with some very concerning care. It was like he could read Oikawa’s mind, with those dull eyes of his.

 

“Well, are we ready?” The crowd of blue and white hovered over Oikawa, smiling at the thought of what great discovery they were just about to make. Oikawa clenched his eyes shut.

 

“Wait!”

 

The door slammed open, and the masked woman came in, strangely out of breath. Oikawa watched in a daze as she pulled down her mask and threw off her hat. He could somehow still make out her face between spilling tears - small wrinkles of age and soft, downturned brown eyes. He was amazed at how _normal_ she looked. He was sure that she would look like some villain from a Disney movie - eyes turned up with rage and black makeup smeared like soot. 

 

“I’m sorry, Oikawa-kun.” 

 

Oikawa widened his eyes for a second, but then glared back menacingly. “How can you say like that to me now? If you’re really that sorry, get me out of here.”

 

Of course, Oikawa hadn’t really anticipated much. What could she do? It was probably all an act, a small tease for him to get his hopes up. It was a joke, wasn’t it?

 

Apparently not.

 

“Yes, exactly.” She lightly smiled before flinging her huge coat into the faces of the doctors. Wings as white as snow spread behind her, feathers flying everywhere. Oikawa watched, strapped to the table. 

 

What?

 

“What? What’s happening?” Screams could be heard as a strong gust of wind smacked the surgical tools off the table. 

 

“We’re getting out of here, Tooru-chan!” She cut the straps on Oikawa’s body with a knife that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Oikawa rolled off the table and grasped his pants. While the woman flapped her wings and distracted the doctors, Oikawa slipped his shorts on and stuffed a few scalpels in his pocket. He had a feeling that they would come in handy later.

 

“You bitch…!” A doctor grabbed a pair of scissors and blindly began to stab at the air. 

 

“Tooru-chan, come on!” 

 

Oikawa let out a gasp when he was lifted up like a baby. They fled the room, the impact of the wings slamming the surgeons to the wall, some being rendered unconscious. Oikawa barely had any time to register what on earth was going on. His fate of death had suddenly been avoided by his arch enemy, and now he was confused whether he was supposed to trust her or not.

 

“I - I don’t  really trust you even now, you know!” Oikawa blurted out. He had to get it off his chest. 

 

“I know,” the woman said. She looked down at him. “I understand.”

 

Oikawa was about to protest on what that meant when the woman crashed through a white door. The door broke off it’s hinges and fell to the floor, revealing the inside of the room. It looked the same as the one Oikawa had been in - with Sugawara this time. Sugawara was being gagged, a piece of cloth strung around his mouth. The elderly female doctor turned her head just in time to meet a refreshing kick to the face. 

 

“Urgh!” She was pushed back, knocking down all her fellow doctors like a pile of dominoes. Sugawara stared up in awe, the gag dropping down to his neck. 

 

“Koushi-chan, let’s run!” With another amazing surge of strength, the woman lifted Sugawara up with her free arm. She slid him behind her, grabbing his hand and clasping it on her shoulder. “Hold tight!” And away she flew, sliding through the narrow hallway like a jet. 

 

“Where are we going!?” Oikawa yelled at the woman, despite her being right next to him. 

 

“I have no idea! I’m just getting you two away from that place,” she replied. Her eyes didn’t stray from the front. “I don’t know how this building works either.”

 

“Aren’t you like, the boss?” Oikawa asked, confused. Or was she the type to leave everything to her servants?

 

“Kinda? Not really,” she said. “More like the substitute boss. There’s someone else in charge. He tells me what to do.” She shrugged. “It’s weird.”

 

“…Why is it you?” 

 

Oikawa turned his head. Sugawara, clutching onto the woman’s shoulders, stared into the back of her head. “Why is it you?”

 

What was he talking about? Oikawa looked at their faces. Sugawara seemed sorrowful. The woman had a sour expression. Wait. Was there something he didn’t know?

 

The woman came to a stop. She gently flapped her wings twice before landing. They were still in the hallway - how were they still in here? Oikawa was pretty sure they had come an immensely long way from the surgery room…

 

“I’m sorry, Koushi-chan.” 

 

Oikawa stared at the two. They stood face to face, both looking quite dull. Sugawara had tears brimming in his eyes. Oikawa felt an instinctive fury rise up in him. He grabbed the black-clothed woman by the shoulders and stared menacingly into her eyes. She looked back up, not a change in expression at all. 

 

“What did you do to him…” Oikawa growled, quiet wrath seeping through of his voice. The woman merely shook her head. “You misunderstand. Sugawara is confused because I take the form of his friend’s mother.” 

 

“You take the form…what?” Sugawara stared at the woman, distressed. “Then you aren’t the real one?” 

 

The woman shook her head, a slight smile on her face. “No, I’m not Daichi-kun’s real mother. I’m just a clone.” She laughed, the wrinkles near her eyes crinkling. “I’m not real.”

 

Sugawara gaped at her, his eyes wide and mouth open. He fell to his knees, face sinking in his hands. “Oi, you okay?” Oikawa, worried, leaned down to help.

 

But Sugawara was smiling. He was smiling, but also at the same time, he was crying. Tears spilled down his pale cheeks, hanging off his upturned mouth. “Thank god… really, I’m so…”

 

Oikawa raised an eyebrow.

 

What?

 

—————

 

_apparently they’re going to the factory_

_-_

_no seriously there are so many police cars in front of the police station_

_-_

_i heard them_

_-_

_they’re going to get suga and oikawa_

_-_

_they said that it takes 5 hours to get there_

_-_

_they’re going like right now_

_-_

_…_

_-_

_daichi?_

 

—

 

Sawamura slammed his door open and ran for the entrance, hurriedly stuffing on his shoes and shoving his phone in his pocket, which was constantly vibrating. 

 

“Daichi, where are you going?” His mother, watching television in the living room, gazed up and looked his way. Her white wings were spread out lazily behind her, like drying blankets out in the sun. 

 

“Just—,” Sawamura opened the door. “Places!” 

 

He ran like hell chased him from behind - no time to waste at all, he had to get there as fast as he could. To the police station!

 

_‘The police station isn’t that far. But at this rate…”_ Sawamura gritted his teeth. He should’ve known sooner!

 

Then he had an idea. ‘ _Maybe_ …’

 

He shifted his wings out from the back of his shirt. They were almost fully grown. All the shirts he had had gotten ripped, and for the first time in his life, he had to go to a clothes shop exclusively for winged beings. 

 

“Urgh!” Oh god, even just one flap was enough to propel his body in the air. Although he hadn’t practiced so much flying, he had the gist of it from seeing his mum fly to and back from the supermarket. 

 

He flapped some more. His body was thrusted higher up, and now Sawamura was sure that he could make it quickly to the station. Without an ounce of hesitation, Sawamura shot through the air, wings tight behind him and ensuring that he went straight like a jet. 

 

After minutes of continuous gliding, he could see the police station. Asahi was right - there was a rather large crowd of black and white vehicles. They had already begun to leave, one by one. Sawamura tsked. He had hoped to catch a secret ride in one of the cars. 

 

He floated down further down the back of the building. He didn’t want to let the officers see him - he was pretty sure that he’d be sent back home immediately. That would ruin everything.

 

Sawamura looked back at his pitch-black wings. Would they be able to hold out during the long flight? There was no doubt that Sawamura was going to follow the police - no matter what, with whatever means he had to get to the place. 

 

He looked up and shook his head. He slapped his cheeks, hard. No time to quibble over that. He was going to hold onto his one and only lead to where Suga was. 

 

The last police car had finally turned it’s engine on. It rumbled for a little while before it began to roll along the road. Sawamura watched from atop the police station building. His eyes followed the car until it was just barely in his sight. Sawamura jumped from the daunting height and spread his black wings whilst dropping in the air, which propelled him back up. Just one flutter sent him hurling through the sky. He managed to catch up to the car in a heartbeat. 

 

He could see the other cars from up high - they were in an awkward line, like a clump of ants. 

 

Maybe the ride wouldn’t be so harsh. Right now, he wasn’t going at his best.

 

“Suga…I’m coming for you. Please be safe.”

 

He simply prayed for his safety.

 

But who knew what could’ve happened to him.

 

He wish he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what am i even writing does this even make sense like w h a t


End file.
